


Oblivion (Is Calling Out Your Name)

by seetheskyaboveus



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Bratva, Drama, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Feelings, Felicity being sassy, Flirting, Fluff and Smut, Gen, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Male-Female Friendship, Mystery, Not the usual Bratva story, Partnership, Romance, Second Chances, Tommy Merlyn is Alive, bratva!Oliver, the Vigilante
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-03
Updated: 2015-02-17
Packaged: 2018-03-05 03:24:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 67,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3103742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seetheskyaboveus/pseuds/seetheskyaboveus
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[AU] Felicity Smoak likes the routine her life has become. She works for the IT Department of Queen Consolidated from Monday to Friday, after work she catches up on her favorite TV shows and she meets up with her best friend John on the weekends. But when The Chinese Triad forms a plan to destroy their biggest enemy, Russian mob – The Bratva, her best friend’s life is on the line and she’ll do anything to help him. Even if that means partnering up with the Bratva Captain and going on a date with him. To top it off, it looks like The Vigilante is stalking her and the Bratva Captain wants something more than a date from her. It seems that Felicity will have to forget about her old life and buckle up for a ride she’ll never forget.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Arrow, however the idea for this story is mine.
> 
> Edit: Here's a soundtrack for the story if you would like to listen :) :  
> http://8tracks.com/seetheskyaboveus/oblivion-is-calling-out-your-name-soundtrack
> 
>  
> 
> Important Note: This story starts in 2014. Season 1 has got a two-year time jump. It means that the Gambit sank in 2009. Every character is born like in the show. Felicity in 1988, Oliver in 1985 and Diggle in 1978. It means that in my story Felicity is 26, Oliver 29 and John 36. Everything else is following the show. The only exception is that Felicity graduated from MIT in 2008 (she was 20 and moved to Starling City) and Part Two will tell you why.  
> I don’t know why, but I forgot to mention this on ff.net. But thanks to patie, who noticed that and asked me about it, I can fix that problem. I hope that now everything will be clear, if not, please tell me. :)
> 
> Notes: Hi everyone! This is my first story ever so I hope that you won’t hate it. :D This is the first part and I’m planning on making four of them. The Alternative Source did the beta work and she’s amazing! Without her I would be lost and this story wouldn’t be posted. Thank you so much for your help! You should totally check out her stories:  
> https://www.fanfiction.net/u/1407659/The-Alternative-Source  
> http://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAlternativeSource  
> Any other mistakes are probably one me, so I apologize.  
> It’s rated M just to be safe ;) I hope that you’ll like it and tell me what you think.  
> Enjoy your reading!  
> P.S. If you want to chat with me you can find me on twitter: @angelica_fit  
> Or follow me on tumblr: seetheskyaboveus

 

_ _

 

_**Part One** _

Felicity Smoak was late. Like really, _really_ late.

It wasn't her fault that QC's main server had decided to crash exactly 30 minutes before she usually left work. It wasn't her fault either, that she was the only one who could fix that, before some permanent damage was done. However it was her fault that it took her 20 minutes longer than she expected to fix it, because she thought she was good at multitasking.

Apparently she was wrong. And now, she had to face the wrath of her soon-to-be boss and she wasn't even close to the end of the longest driveway she’d ever seen. Apparently it was a thing for billionaires.

The driveways, she meant...

Not that she knew a lot of billionaires.

Anyway, she was running late and she couldn't focus her brilliant mind on finding the best excuse to tell her best friend, whom she had promised that she'd come and offer some IT help to the man he worked for. She couldn't even call him and explain herself, because her phone decided to die on her the moment she left QC. But there were worse things than facing the disappointed face of one John Diggle.

Like the disappointed and certainly furious face of Oliver Queen, the Bratva Captain.

 

Oh, she was so royally screwed.

 

Oliver Queen was a man who didn't like when things didn't go as he’d planned. And today things certainly weren’t going the way he wanted, but as she already had said, it wasn't her fault.

Mainly.

Felicity liked to think that she was pretty smart. It was proven, when she'd finished MIT at the top of her class a year earlier than her peers and when she was hired by the IT department of Queen Consolidated. She was responsible for coding their security system and working on the biggest projects Walter Steele could sign her up for. That's why, Felicity wasn't surprised when her intelligence helped her uncover the most well-kept mystery you could find in Starling City.

The Queen Family, the people for whom she worked for, were apparently a part of the Russian mob - the Bratva.

They weren't just regular members that didn't really count, people on the fringes who did the grunge work, oh no. Robert Queen was the Captain of Bratva on American soil.

John Diggle was the first person she had met when she moved to Starling City six years ago. He saved her from being mugged in the middle of the Glades when her car broke down. Ever since, they were best friends and she liked to think that she knew him well. Imagine her surprise, when she caught him sewing up his shoulder after what she could tell was a bullet wound. He insisted that it was just a piece of glass that fell on him from the kitchen cabinet.

But she knew the truth. It wasn't glass, believe her. John didn't put anything sharp and pointy that high up; she'd made sure of that at the beginning of their friendship.

 

Felicity must reiterate that she hated mysteries. And ever since the sewing incident John acted suspiciously mysterious.

One day when she did his laundry, John, like every other man, didn’t sort his dirty things properly. He put his white shirt with his dark clothes and when she picked it up to throw it to the proper basket her fingers caught in a hole that definitely shouldn’t be in the sleeve. She examined it, frowning and it looked like something came through it. She remembered then, that day a week before, when he sewed up his shoulder, and if he had put this shirt back on the hole would definitely cover the place he was wounded.

Her theory about a bullet wound popped inside her mind and this time she couldn’t leave it be.

A day later when she cooked dinner, John was taking a call in her bathroom. At some point she’d remembered that she hadn’t closed the window in her bedroom and it was important, because her neighbor’s cat liked to wander inside her wardrobe to play with her clothes. His playing usually ended with destroying it so she had to prevent it somehow. She left her kitchen to close the window, but when she was passing the bathroom something caught her attention. The bathroom door was left slightly ajar and she could hear John’s concerned voice talking to someone.

It’s not that she was eavesdropping, but everyone who would hear their friend talking in what sounded like Russian to her would pause for a second. Especially when she was sure that the only language John could talk was English and sports.

That made another red light go off in her head, but she didn’t know why. The only thing she was certain was that it made her feel uneasy and like John was hiding something from her. Her gut was concerned and that was the best way to tell her that something was wrong.

So one night she had followed him from work, intending to figure out what was going on.

 

John worked as a bodyguard of her boss's son, Oliver Queen. It wasn't a boring job as one could think, because Oliver Queen? He was the king of parties.

And booze.

And spending money.

And finding trouble.

Generally, he was a king of everything that involved spending a lot of money.

Probably another billionaire thing.

That night, Felicity thought that her _stalking my friend_ mission would end with her falling asleep behind the wheel, because watching partying Oliver Queen could be fun for only so long.

Then something happened that didn't make sense at all.

Oliver Queen left the latest club he was having fun at and he didn't look wasted even a little bit. He got to the limo pretty fast and in the next second the car took off with a hurry. Where to, Felicity didn't know, so she did what she was doing all night.

She followed.

After 10 minutes of meaningless driving, the limousine stopped in the middle of the Glades, by some kind of car repair shop. Felicity parked her car a safe distance from the limousine - or at least she thought that - and then she observed.

John left the car and opened the passenger door for Oliver Queen. When he busied himself with fixing his suit jacket, two men came outside from the shop. They greeted him in some kind of weird way that Felicity couldn't recognize from anywhere. Before they could do anything that would help her figure out what was happening, another car drove near them and all hell broke loose.

The car pulled into a halt, someone rolled the passenger window down and then the shooting started.

If Felicity was normal, she would probably scream and duck for cover. Then she would start the car and get herself the hell out of there. But Felicity Smoak was 50 shades out of normal.

She would be stupid if she said she wasn't scared. She was. She could feel her heart starting to beat rapidly, almost jumping out of her chest. Her mind tried to think about what was happening here, but every reason she could find didn't make sense.

She saw John pull his gun out, and she was scared for him. He was in the front line of their fire and he didn't even try to find a place to hide. He just started shooting in the general direction of the car, standing in front of Oliver Queen, shielding him with his body. He was his bodyguard after all.

 

And then she watched as Oliver Queen pulled out his own gun and, firing only once, shot the driver.

 

If Felicity said something along the lines of _what the actual fuck_ , she had a completely legitimate reason.

 

Everything that happened after that was a blur of gunshots and sights she'd never forget. After a couple of seconds everything was over and she realized that it was time for her to get the hell out of there before someone saw her.

She drove off like someone was after her, leaving behind a cloud of metaphorical dust. And then it hit her hard.

Oliver Queen killed someone.

 _Playboy_ , the Golden Child, who everyone thought was an idiot, _killed_ someone.

Her _best friend_ , John Diggle, probably killed someone as well.

And she'd witnessed it all.

 

It was probably a mistake, a big, terrible mistake. Someone was trying to kill them and they were just protecting themselves.

Yes, they were just trying to save themselves.

But then she’d put on the radio, finding the SCPD station she'd hacked a year before and everything she’d talked herself into crashed and burned, forcing her to face the reality.

" _Central to dispatch. Central to dispatch. We have a shooting in one of the suspected Bratva hideouts. They're saying it's the Triad. Possible victims. We're sending back up_."

" _Copy that_."

If she weren’t driving a car she would have probably stoped breathing.

Bratva and Triad? These were mob organizations!

How? Was it possible that John and Oliver Queen were involved?

She thought about every stupid accident that John had been in the past year she’d known him. Every stupid excuse he came up with.

 

Oh God, this wasn’t happening.

 

She pulled over, turning the car into a parking space in front of her townhouse. She’d left in a hurry, too busy to care about anything other than the conspiracy theories that started forming inside her head. She entered her house out of breath and with trembling hands she switched the lights on.

John was sitting on her couch, drops of blood staining his suit jacket, calmly watching her.

She did the only logical thing.

She screamed.

John lifted one of his brows in that  _are you kidding me_ kind of way and Felicity slammed her mouth shut with her hand. He probably thought she was afraid of him, but she wasn't. He just startled her that's all. She hated being startled.

She gulped, realizing that he must have seen her car following him around, because what could be the other reason for him to be sitting on her couch right then?

And then she did what she always did when she was concerned and in panic - she used her loud voice on him, telling him about everything she saw. She told him that she knew he was a mobster, and she told him about everything she thought about the situation she had witnessed. She didn't stop to take a much needed break for air until John got up from the couch, putting his hand on her shoulder, stopping her rambling mid-sentence.

That night, John told her the whole truth about his work and about the Queen Family.

To this day, she was grateful that he trusted her so deeply that he wasn't afraid she'd report him to the police. She would be lying if she said that she hadn't considered it for a second. After all, she saw them kill people. But then she stopped when she realized _she_ worked for a mob family, for God's sake! She thought about all the good that Queen Consolidated did for the people of Starling City. She knew that the company was just a cover for prying eyes now, but still... hundreds of people could lose their jobs if she told anyone about this.

She would probably lose her life too. Not that John would let that happen, but still.

So, for the first time in her entire life, Felicity Smoak didn't say a word. And that was something, considering her broken brain-to-mouth filter.

Felicity was relieved when John promised her not to say anything about this to his boss. She didn't know if she could handle the situation so well if he knew that she knew. But she didn't have to worry about it anymore when a week later the Queen's Gambit was lost in the ocean and everyone on it presumed dead.

Robert Queen was dead and with him, his only heir to the Captain of the Bratva position.

The Bratva was weakened which was the main goal of the Triad, who happened to be behind the sinking of the Gambit. But the Queen Family stayed strong with Moira Queen taking the position of the CEO of Queen Consolidated and putting her husband's right hand, Walter Steele, as the next Captain who later took over as the next CEO as well, when Moira had to take a leave to care for the remaining member of her family. No one was surprised when she married Walter two years later.

After that strong show of force from the Queens, the Triad stayed back for some time, because their sabotage was unsuccessful. The Bratva grew stronger with the help of Queen Consolidated and their new deals in technology.

But no one really forgot about the loss the Queen Family had gone through. So when the fifth anniversary came and the news of Oliver Queen being rescued from a deserted island hit Starling City, the Bratva realized that there was still hope to once again be the most powerful mob family.

Oliver Queen came back a changed man.

He was no longer the party boy that people remembered him to be. He was calm, stubborn and a dark, broody man. At least that's how John described him. Felicity thought that because of the things he must have been through he had a right to be the way he was. Everyone could see that the island must have been his ‘school of life’ where he had to grow up if he wanted to survive.

It really changed him, because it wasn't even a week later when he took over the position of the Bratva Captain, leaving Walter Steele as the CEO. As John told her later, the Queen Family gained a new ally - Anatoly Knyazev - who happened to be on the same _deserted_ island as Oliver Queen.

What a coincidence, right?

Anatoly was one of the main Captains in the Bratva organization who disappeared suddenly a couple of years before the Queen's Gambit sinking. When he came back, he granted Oliver Queen a position of being the only Captain on American soil as a gesture of gratitude for saving his life. Business had never been better after that, the Triad lurking in the shadows like a scared puppy. QC was making a lot of money and no one dared to make a move against the Queen Family.

And Felicity was on the fringes of it all, best friends with John and good friends with Mr. Steele who appreciated her work for his company.

But no one from the Queen Family knew that Felicity was aware of their dirty, not so little secret.

For her whole life, her big mouth was Felicity's biggest problem. But imagine her surprise that she managed to keep her mouth shut for this whole time as John continued to tell her updates on the Queens. John trusted her and he told her everything he could without endangering her life, but Felicity being Felicity had to dig for more.

She hated mysteries after all.

That's why after 5 years of finding information wherever she could, she was like a walking and living Bratva encyclopedia.

 

Sometimes she wondered if it was possible for the people of Starling City to not know about the role the Queen Family played as a mob organization. They were aware that mob was present in the city, but they just couldn't connect the dots. And the Police Department? She didn't even want to talk about them, because, please... their knowledge was just plain stupid. And embarrassing.

Clearly, Oliver Queen knew how to hide his extracurricular activities.

And if she didn't hurry, he would know how to dispose of her body without anyone finding about it too.

 

Felicity cursed herself. If she were any smarter, she wouldn't agree to actually help the Bratva Captain. But John insisted, telling her it was only temporary and that they desperately needed her help, so who was she to decline?

Only if she could find herself at the end of that stupid driveway, damn it!

She was sure that now, seeing how irresponsible of a person she could be sometimes, Oliver Queen wouldn't want her help with anything. And she still had no idea how she could help them.

Damn you, John and your secrecy!

Okay, technically she already worked for Oliver Queen, seeing as he owned the company. But he wasn't the CEO so she wouldn't call him her boss. She just wanted to get to the point where she would attend the meeting before he kicked her off of his property for her loud mouth or her tardiness.

Finally, after what felt like forever, she could see the big mansion everyone talked about. It was really massive and Felicity felt like she could be crushed by the power it held. She involuntarily shivered, because if the block stones could make her feel that way, she was afraid to think of what Oliver Queen’s presence would do to her.

The Mansion wasn't that heavily guarded as the front gate she had to drive through. She could only see two guards, but she was sure they were armed with guns and heavily trained. They had this look she saw only in the QC lobby when the guards stood by the metal detectors - calm but always ready. She couldn't see John anywhere and that made the nervousness creep back in. He'd promised her he would be waiting for her outside so she wouldn't have to worry about anything.

Well, it looked like she had to face the big, bad Bratva Captain by herself.

_Oh, boy._

She parked her car by the front doors and then took a deep breath trying to calm herself a bit.

She had met Oliver Queen only once since her move to Starling City. It was six months ago, after he returned from the island as he was taking a tour around the QC with Mr. Steele. She was walking back from her lunch break and almost bumped into him spilling her latte on the floor. She was lucky that day. One step forward and to the left, and that latte would have ended up on his chest, making a huge mess and putting her job on the line. Felicity was really embarrassed and she hoped that he didn't remember her from that day.

"It's going to be okay. He won't eat you, Smoak, just pull yourself together," Felicity whispered, closing her eyes for a second. When she opened them, one of the guards was looking at her curiously and she felt her cheeks heat up. Trying not to embarrass herself further, she cleared her throat and opened the door, stepping outside.

The cold crept under her purple coat, reminding her that it was almost the end of December, a time just before Christmas. She fumbled with her car keys, closing her car, only to open it again when she spotted her purse and tablet lying forgotten in the back seat.

The front doors opened a couple yards from her and from the corner of her eye she saw pantsuit clad legs. She assumed it was John, who finally decided to bless her with his presence.

"John, I'm so sorry!" she started, not bothering to look his way. "Walter called, someone tried to hack QC and the servers crashed. I had to fix it." She picked up her tablet and started to gather her things in her purse as she continued speaking. "Before you say anything, I couldn't call because my phone died and I didn't have time to charge it. And really, it isn't my fault that half of the IT department looks like they don't know what they're doing. It's like all they know is how to download a virus from some porn they watched during their lunch break." Making sure she had everything, she finally closed the car door and turned. "Anyway, I hope Mr. Queen is not pissed at me, I know he can get a little-" Her words came to an abrupt halt as she found herself in front of a really muscular chest that didn't belong to John.

Felicity blinked.

Slowly her eyes moved up taking in the view of wide shoulders, a strong, stubble covered jaw that could cut glass, sensual looking lips that were pressed together in a thin line and finally landing on piercing blue eyes, which were solely focused on her.

Yeah, definitely not John Diggle.

"-angry?" she squeaked, when she got her voice back. "Oh my god, I'm sorry, I thought you were John." She felt mortified and she couldn't help how her cheeks flushed. Oliver Queen was standing in front of her, silently watching her every move. She felt like a schoolgirl looking at her incredibly hot principal after she had done something wrong. Should she say something? "Um... Hi?"

Great, Smoak. Why can’t you just shut up? And why did everything that came out of her mouth in that moment sounded like a question?

It was in this moment that the purse she was holding in her hand decided that it was a perfect time to slip out of her grip and spill all its contents on the floor between them.

 

How embarrassing, Smoak. Good job.

 

She gulped and broke eye contact with the Bratva Captain, crouching to pick everything up.

"There you are, Felicity! I was worried about you! What the hell happened? You were supposed to be here almost an hour ago!" a voice called out as she shoved everything back into her bag.

 _Thank God for John Diggle_ , Felicity thought. Seriously, she could kiss him right now! Her knight in shining armor.

"I'm sorry, we had a situation at Queen Consolidated." She straightened her askew glasses, getting up from the floor.

She really didn't know what to do next. Oliver Queen was still watching her like she was something that stuck to the back of his shoe. She was under the impression that if she made one wrong move he would tell the guards to remove her from his sight.

Oh god, the guards! They saw everything!

The blush, Felicity thought she had under control, spread like a wildfire and if she had to spend a moment longer in front of Oliver Queen she would just turn on her feet and run her embarrassed self for the hills.

But then she saw something that made her question her sanity.

The lips Oliver Queen held sealed in a thin line tugged at the corners like he was stopping himself from smiling and that made Felicity gape at his _very_ handsome face.

Well, at least she had accomplished something with her idiocy today.

"YA ne lyublyu, kogda lyudi opazdyvayut," he said in Russian totally taking her by surprise. His voice was deep and full of power that made butterflies wake in her stomach. She shouldn't feel anything like that! "Zakhodite, prezhde chem ya peredumayu." He turned around and walked inside the mansion, leaving her with John by the open doors.

"Does that mean I didn't get the job?" Felicity asked after a pregnant pause, not understanding what just happened. "Why does he talk in Russian to me? Do I look like I know Russian?"

John sighed, putting his hands on her shoulders. "That was Oliver Queen welcoming you to his home. Come in, before he changes his mind." He pushed her slightly, encouraging her to walk. Felicity didn't have a choice, but to follow him. "And don't worry, he'll warm up to you any second now."

Felicity doubted that, but a girl could dream, right?

The inside of the mansion looked just as intimidating as the outside. Everything was sophisticated and Felicity was scared to touch anything in case she’d break it by accident. The brown color that dominated the mansion made it look more dark and dangerous, perfectly reflecting Oliver Queen’s personality. Felicity thought that this decor was ideal for threatening Bratva's enemies.

John led her silently through a long corridor that made her wonder how big the Queen Mansion really was. After what felt like forever, he turned left and abruptly stopped, opening large doors for her.

Felicity hesitantly entered the room and took it in. It was big with a fireplace on the left side and a massive, wooden desk on the right. There were two couches by the burning fireplace and bookcases behind the desk.

It looked like Felicity found herself in Mr. Queen office. Or was it a study?

Oliver Queen entered the room startling her a little. He didn't acknowledge her presence, just stopped by a small desk in front of a window and took a glass to pour himself, what looked like to her, a scotch. While he was busy with that, Felicity took a moment to observe him.

He wore a perfectly tailored grey suit that did wonders to his body. His hair was a lot shorter than before the Queen's Gambit sinking and he definitely worked out, because come on, these muscles didn't show up out of nowhere. And he was huge.

Maybe not like John, but still... huge.

He took a sip of his scotch and she was fascinated by the way his throat worked, swallowing it.

All of a sudden she was really hot. Did someone turn the heat up?

He finally turned, facing her and she noticed the biggest change in his whole appearance.

He no longer smiled.

Before the island, Oliver Queen was always seen with a smile on his face. Or with a grin, that made him look like a cat that ate the canary, all in his devilishly handsome glory. But now he only smiled when a camera flashed in his face and it still wasn't a honest one. Felicity was sure that he must have been through hell and back if that changed him so much. Some people said his body was covered in scars and burns and his mind was far away from a normal state. But it didn't change the fact that he was still a beautiful man.

Something in the way he held himself made her feel that his acting was in fact - an act. A way to hide his true thoughts and feelings. And it made her change her mind about him.

He wasn't just a Bratva Captain, a man who didn't trust easily, who everyone was terrified of. A man who had to be cruel and act like he didn't care about anything.

He was also a boy, who had to grow up fast. Who lost his father in a terrible accident, who literally was responsible for a hundreds of lives. Who couldn't take a break from this life. And if that didn't give him right to be all dark and broody, she didn't know what did.

Oh wow, when did she get so sentimental? She didn't even know him!

Suddenly he looked at her with those sparkling blue eyes of his and made a gesture with his glass, asking her silently if she wanted some.

"Oh, no, thank you. Me and alcohol? It's not a good combination," she declined. She tried to loosen up the situation a little, but seeing as his face didn't change from its stoic expression, it didn't go well. " _So_... why am I here?" she asked, looking from him to John, who stood behind her in his typical held together pose.

John didn't answer her, just kept watching as Oliver Queen drank his scotch as if he was waiting for some kind of a sign from him. It was getting a bit awkward and Felicity couldn't help but fidget, standing in the middle of the room, not knowing what to do.

"Vy mozhete skazat' yey, Diggle. YA p'yu," Mr. Queen said abruptly, taking another sip of his drink, not breaking eye contact with John. She could hear a hint of amusement in his voice and whatever he'd said made John roll his eyes at his boss. Oliver Queen smirked shortly and she was taken aback.

She knew that he and John were friends but seeing it in person made her feel weird. Anyone else, who would try to roll his or her eyes at the Bratva Captain, would end up in a pretty bad situation.

"We asked you to come here because we need your help with something," John told her.

"I might have guessed that already. Because what would I be doing here otherwise... in this big Mansion of yours," she babbled and dared to look at Oliver Queen for some kind of reaction. He took another sip of his drink and leaned against his desk. She cleared her throat awkwardly. "Does this have to do anything with your Bratva activities, Mr. Queen?"

If it were someone else, she would probably laugh at his reaction to what she just admitted. In a second his eyes went big like saucers and he might have actually choked on his scotch.

Now she was sure that John stayed true to his word and didn't say a thing. And if Oliver Queen was taken by surprise, he masked it in the next moment with ease. But she could see that for the first time since she’d met him, he really looked at her.

And he was _staring_.

"I might be blonde, but I'm not that blonde, Mr. Queen," she said and he looked at her now with a glint of interest.

John smirked like he was proud of her and then took a step closer. "A week ago, my security team came across a breach in their computer system. I took it to our technicians and it turned out to be an attempt to hack our main servers, the ones with the really important documents." John handed her a flash drive and she swiftly plugged it in to her tablet. Felicity knew that by _important documents_ he meant Bratva documentation, so it truly had to be a serious situation.

When the drive finished loading, a file with an encrypted code showed itself on her screen. With a swipe of her thumb and a couple of keystrokes she decrypted it and was met with a complicated line of code, which turned out to be a spyware program.

"We kept it quiet, because we didn't know who could have been responsible for this. You see, our technicians aren't as good as you, Felicity." John smiled at her and she couldn't help but reciprocate it. "We have been watching this code ever since and it hasn’t made a move until today when someone tried to hack Queen Consolidated. We were in luck that you were there to fix it."

Felicity looked again at the line of code, recognition hitting her. It was the same code as the one she’d fought off in the server room. If she weren’t that good at her job, whoever was behind this would get unlimited access to QC documents, ipso facto the Bratva's dirty secrets. Everything about this made so much sense.

"What Diggle is trying to say..." Oliver Queen said abruptly, reminding her about his presence in the room. "Is that you can hack. And I've heard you're so good, that you can tell us exactly who's behind it."

All Felicity could focus on was that he did know how to speak English. Was he trying to frustrate her with talking in a language she didn't know? Make her wonder what he was talking about?

He lifted a brow, looking at her.

"I said that all out loud, didn't I?" she asked. At his amused expression she knew, she did. "Great," she said with a nod before she remembered what he'd said. She became mad. "Hacking is just a hobby, Mr. Queen. And I'm not just good, I'm _that_ good. I can do more than tell you who's behind this. I can trace that person and give you their exact location. I can hack their computer and tell you what they're up to." She lifted her chin stubbornly, showing that she was proud of what she could do.

He might have hit a sore spot there, but Felicity graduated from MIT and she didn't like when people underestimated her only because she was blonde with glasses and liked to occasionally wear panda flats.

His face turned smug and she realized that it was exactly what he wanted. He wanted her to brag about her capabilities so later when they reached an understanding she wouldn't back out of what she just said.

A real businessman. Damn him.

She glared at him, not wanting to show him that he’d won. But he already knew that and showed her that with his eyes. They were staring at each other, waiting who would break first.

"I told you man, she can do it," John broke their silent competition before it could get any further.

"All right, Ms. Smoak. Show me." Oliver Queen gestured to her tablet, putting his glass back on the table.

"Now?" Felicity blinked, surprised at his request.

"Yes, now. Unless you were just bragging about how talented you are?" he said, a challenge visibly present in his voice.

 _Oh, game on, Mr. Queen_ , Felicity thought, _I'm going to hack so hard you'll get your ass handed to you_.

Felicity turned from him and used the fact that the couches were present in the room. She sat down on one and put her fingers to good use, firing up her tracking program. She felt someone's eyes on her and breaking her gaze from the screen she found that Oliver Queen had occupied the couch opposite of her and was observing her still moving fingers.

She stopped her movements and waited for him to look at her eyes. When he did, she said, "I'm not going to work faster just because you're staring at me. Go and do your Captain-y things." Oh God, she really was testing his patience today. Was he going to reprimand her? Should she be afraid?

"Nah, I'm good here." He lowered his voice like he was actually amused by what she said. What happened to the cruel Captain of the Bratva? The one she’d heard so many rumors about?

John sat on her right side, clearing his throat. Felicity used that as a cue to get back to work.

She started typing, unfolding the code and looking for its soft spots. It was a long and hard process, because whoever wrote it was really good, but she was better.

She saw the first signs of activity at a location outside of Starling City but she knew it was just a distraction from the real one. If it were someone else they would probably give up already, missing the opportunity to find the hidden door. But she retraced the code's original steps. She wasn’t disappointed at what she found.

After 5 minutes of following the source she found the real location.

"Yes!" she fist pumped the air, and felt John’s and Oliver Queen’s eyes on her. "Oh, I really do that sometimes." She blushed. "The person who's responsible for your security breach is in the west side of the Glades. Precisely 27th Nelson Street." She zoomed in the map to get a better view. "It looks like a nightclub. One of the underground ones."

Felicity lifted her head and met with Oliver Queen’s gaze, who was staring at her impressed. She felt as her heart fluttered and she hoped he couldn't see how much of an effect he had on her. "Now, let’s take a look at your hard drive, my friend." When John let a snort out, she realized how dirty that sounded. Her head shot up and with wide eyes she tried to explain it, "And by hard drive I actually meant hard drive, not something else that could also be hard. Oh my god, I'm making it worse, I'm going to just stop talking now."

Why did she always have to babble like that? It's like all she could do was embarrass herself in front of Oliver Queen, who right now was just shaking his head slightly with an expression she couldn't place. At least he didn't look angry.

She used the silence to her advantage and hacked the system in front of her. She got access pretty quickly and its content made her pause.

She should have known that it was their work. They had been trying to destroy the Bratva since they first set a foot in Starling City.

"What? What is it?" She must have made some noise, because John was looking at her with concern.

"It's bad, John." She opened every document she could find that said something about Bratva or Queen Consolidated.

"Tell me." She heard as Oliver Queen’s voice hardened because of her stalling the answer.

Felicity paused. If she was going to do that, if she was going to tell him everything, she had to set some grand rules. It wasn't something that could be easily fixed; it literally was something that could endanger a lot of lives on both sides. And Felicity couldn't be responsible for something like that.

"Before I tell you this, Mr. Queen, I have to ask you to promise me something," she told him softly. He tried to protest, but she just stubbornly tilted her head to the side and waited for him to agree with her. After a moment he nodded, and Felicity continued, "I need you to promise me that you'll do everything you can to find another way to resolve this. That you won't endanger innocent people and that you won't hurt anyone unless there is no other choice." Her voice was calm and slow and she hoped that it was enough to reach him.

"Ms. Smoak." He was watching her like he wasn't surprised with her request. That kind of calmed her down slightly, "I talked about this with Diggle earlier, and he explained to me that you can't be tainted with what we do for a living, and I get that." Surprise found its way on her face when she looked at John. He just smiled warmly at her and she was so glad that he was her friend right now. "That's why I’m making you a promise that I will do whatever it takes to solve this in the most peaceful way. And that I'll keep you safe from any danger that can come out of you working for us. Is that alright?" Felicity met his gaze and all she saw in his eyes was honesty with a hint of protectiveness.

Should she trust him? Her gut told her that he was sincere and her gut was always right. If John, with his military background, could work for him and not question his actions, maybe Oliver Queen and his Bratva organization weren’t as bad as others said. And if that could help with ending the Triad business in Starling, maybe she should put her faith in him as well.

Felicity nodded, biting her lip. It was a tough choice and she hoped she wouldn't regret it.

"It's the Triad," Felicity finally revealed. Oliver Queen tightened his jaw so hard it probably hurt him. "I found some evidence leading this spyware program to them and it seems to me that this underground club is one of their hideouts. I have something more, but you need to give me a second so I can open it properly," she explained and typed a command into the file. It loaded a new file, displaying a couple of words. "It's some kind of a message." She showed the tablet to John and he started reading it out loud.

"Meeting. 23rd. 22 hundred. QFACG. Got the files. North side of the docks."

"QFACG? What is that?" Oliver Queen frowned.

"I'm guessing it's their short hand for something important." John looked at the tablet to get a better view. "A place maybe, or-"

"An event?" Felicity interrupted him getting up from the couch and walking to a small table not far from them. She picked up a small piece of paper, she’d spotted when she entered the room. "Queen Family Annual Christmas Gala," she read. "QFACG. Why would they mention your Gala in this message?" She turned around to face Oliver Queen who stood up and had started pacing, thinking about something quite hard.

"They're planning something," he said suddenly. "Tomorrow night there's going to be a meeting in which they'll exchange some information. If they talked about my Gala, it means that something is going to happen or that we'll have unexpected guests. I need to know what they want."

"Well, I can't help you with that unless I'm in close proximity to one of them in the near future. I could hack their phones and drives when they would try to exchange the information. But that won't happen, unfortunately." Felicity's brain worked at high speed, but she couldn't think about anything else she could do to help.

There wasn't anything else that she could hack to learn about Triad's move, everything on the hard drive was already decrypted. Unless someone from Oliver Queen’s inner circle were present during that meeting at the docks, they wouldn’t know Triad’s plan to take down the Bratva. All they had was a location and more questions without answers.

"You're going to come with me to the Gala." Oliver Queen stopped his pacing in front of her, invading her personal space.

Felicity took in a sharp breath, staring at him. He was so close to her that with every inhale she could smell him. And boy, did he smell good. All manly and strong and spicy. She was so flustered that it took her longer than expected to register what he just said. When she did, she gaped at him in shock.

"Excuse me?" Her breath hitched.

"You heard me. You're going to be my date and that will give you a perfect opportunity to hack that information out of them. I’ll take care of the rest," he said not taking his eyes off her. He looked calm, but his eyes were burning, daring her to object.

She took the dare.

"I'm not going to be your date just so you can get what you want. There will be people there! Important people. Seeing me on your arm will make people assume the worst. I'm not going to be the next office gossip!" The words just exploded out of her mouth not giving her time to think them over. But they were true. Felicity Smoak, an IT gremlin, in the same social circle as Oliver Queen was something unthinkable. And she wouldn't end up chewed up and spit out by those sharks.

"Ms. Smoak-" he didn't get to finish because in the next second the whole room fell into darkness, leaving them in the low light of the fireplace.

He moved so fast that she nearly didn't realize what was happening. One second he was in her personal space, trying to intimidate her and the next, he grabbed her and shoved her behind him, protecting her from the danger they couldn't see.

John pulled his gun out and jumped to his feet, aiming at the door. It was quiet and all Felicity could hear was her heart beating rapidly. Fear gripped at her making it almost impossible to breathe.

Did someone attack the Mansion? Were they really in danger?

She heard footsteps in the corridor, outside the door and seeing as Oliver Queen suddenly tensed, she knew he heard them as well. John tightened his grip on the gun and Felicity couldn't help but grab at the first thing that was within her reach.

Which happened to be Oliver Queen’s bicep.

If it was under different circumstances she would have appreciated how big his bicep was, how firm and strong. Just like all of him. But Felicity was scared and holding onto someone that strong helped her get a grip on the situation.

Oliver Queen reached behind him and his palm landed on her hip, steadying her. Feeling the heat from his palm sinking into her skirt and molding with her skin made her nervous for a completely different reason. But she didn't dwell on it, hearing the footsteps getting closer to their location.

They waited.

When the doors opened, everything happened fast. Someone threw a punch, someone grunted and then yelped.

"Hey! Hey, it's me! God, whose got your panties in a knot?!" A male voice yelled and then they were blinded by a flashlight.

When Felicity got her bearings back she took a look from behind Oliver Queen’s back. There stood a boy in a red hoodie, not older than 20 years old. She recognized him.

He was the boyfriend of Oliver Queen’s kid sister Thea. She only knew that because she saw them kissing in the QC lobby one day after work. It looked like he was also Bratva.

Who would have guessed?

He was tall and handsome if you went for an Abercrombie look. He was rubbing at his jaw, which was starting to swell. He must have been hit by John.

"Roy! What the hell? You scared the crap out of us! We thought you were Triad!" John hid his gun back in his holster.

"Triad?" he asked disoriented. "You were the one jumping at me!" Roy yelled at him.

"Alright," Oliver Queen interrupted them. "What happened, Roy? Why did the power turned off?" he asked, impatience sneaking into his voice.

Roy looked at him like he asked the dumbest question in the world, "Thea decided to play with the lights outside the Mansion. Guys were hanging new ones in the gazebo. She blew the generator or something."

Oliver Queen sighed loudly and Felicity realized she was still gripping at his bicep. She let him go like someone burned her, but unfortunately, he still kept his hand on her hip.

"I can help you with that." The words left her mouth, before she could stop them.

Oliver Queen turned around then and finally, his hand slid off her hip slowly, making her shiver. The boy, Roy, looked her up from head to toe. Felicity could see that he was judging her with his eyes and she straightened her back, not showing any weaknesses.

He smirked and locked gazes with her. "No offense, Blondie, but we need an electrician not a Barbie."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I'm good with my hands, try me."

He might have sputtered a bit and then she actually heard what she'd said.

"I wasn't making a pass at you!" she explained quickly. Then she looked at Oliver Queen who was staring at her with a quirk to his lips. "I wasn't making a pass at him! Sometimes my mouth works without actually communicating with my brain."

For a minute his gaze traveled around her face and she felt like she was under a microscope. He turned around. "Roy, take Ms. Smoak with you and show her what happened. I'm sure she'll be able to fix it."

Saying that Felicity wasn't positively surprised with how much faith he had in her with knowing her for an hour or so, would be a lie.

Roy looked like he was ordered to do the most boring thing in the world, but politely stepped out of the door letting her follow after him. John squeezed her arm when she passed by him and she knew he was just reassuring himself that she was all right, even if nothing happened to her tonight.

She left the room and followed Roy outside. He didn't talk to her, but she knew he was just trying to sell his act as a member of Bratva. He looked like a boy who liked to get in trouble and dating Thea Queen was trouble in itself.

He was wrong about the generator. The problem was with a single small wire in the Christmas lights Thea tried to hang. It overloaded the other wires with too much power and caused the blackout. All she had to do was secure it and the whole mansion lit up in bright lights. Roy looked impressed and she couldn't help but smile smugly. He would know to not underestimate others.

After she assured him that she would find her way back she couldn't help but stay outside a little longer. The Queen Family knew how to prepare their home for Christmas. It looked like a picture she would see in a movie, all bright and shiny. The Queen Family Annual Christmas Gala would be looking breathtaking with all of those lights.

The gazebo she stood in was lit by small white and yellow lights making her feel like she was surrounded by glitter. It was pure magic. There was something about Christmas that made her feel calm here. It showed her how beautiful the world could be in the winter. She might be Jewish, but she adored Christmas just as much.

Stepping out of the gazebo she spotted a beautifully lit fountain. It was big and in the middle of it stood a statue of an angel who looked like he was about to spread his wings. The water was frozen around him in a clear tile that sparkled when the lights reflected in it.

When she was little she always wanted to ice skate, but growing up in Nevada with little time on her hands and money she couldn't spend in her savings, she never had an occasion to do it.

Watching the fountain from afar she could literally feel as the ice called out to her, tempting her to come closer. Not thinking any longer she walked up to the fountain and after making sure that no one saw her she carefully sat on the lip of the fountain, letting her feet skate over the slippery tile. She was sure that if she stood up right that moment she would have face planted on the ice.

She rested her hands on the edge of the fountain and tipped her head, watching as the stars winked at her from the dark sky. The snow wasn’t falling anymore and she felt as the wind gently fanned across her face lulling her into oblivion. She didn’t think about anything for a while, just relaxed, allowing her eyelids to shut. But then her mind circled back to the man who was waiting for her in the Mansion.

Oliver Queen was not a man she expected to meet.

Maybe in the beginning he was the silent and dark type everyone said he was, but then with her babbling and embarrassing herself in front of him something changed in his person. He actually cracked a smile. And it wasn't that fake one. It was a real, small and a beautiful smile. It did something to her. It made her all warm and flustered and she was so taken aback she didn't know what to do about it.

At first she thought she would be afraid of him, but then he teased her, challenged her and she reacted without thinking. She stood her ground and didn't let him intimidate her. Then he touched her, slightly but it was there. It was stupid but it felt like his hand was made to be in contact with her body. His request, no, _demand_ to be his date at the Gala was like pouring fuel to the fire which was her conflicted feelings about him.

She wasn't stupid. She knew how it would look if she came to the Gala with him. She would be the next gold-digger who wanted money and fame. People liked to talk, and she was sure that their talking would cause a lot of trouble to everyone important to her.

That's why she couldn't say yes.

"Ms. Smoak? What are you doing?"

She yelped, startled. Her head lowered and her eyes snapped open. She was met with the curious face of a man she’d just been thinking deeply about. She hadn’t even heard him walk up to her. Felicity jumped to her feet forgetting that she was standing on the ice. The realization of that came too late and her rapid movements caused her to lose her footing. She painfully landed on her back with a thud.

"Are you alright?" Oliver Queen came towards her quickly, checking for injuries.

"I'm alright. Embarrassed, but alright," she groaned. When he gave her his hand to help her get up she took it and was momentarily tugged up. The slippery ice caused her to sway to back but this time he caught her before she fell. He tightened his grip on her and lifted her from the fountain without a problem.

Wow, he was _strong_.

He put her down and loosened his grip around her waist but didn't let her go completely. For a moment she enjoyed the feeling of his arms around her, but then she stepped back before she did something stupid like leaning into him.

"What were you doing?" he asked like he didn't see her totally embarrassing herself in front of him.

"I was just thinking. It's stupid, I'm sorry." She finally looked at him and she was relieved that he didn't look angry. "Did you need me or something?"

He tilted his head to the side. "We didn't get to finish our talk before the lights went out."

"Mr. Queen," she started. "There's nothing to talk about. I can't be your date. We'll have to think about something else." She hoped that he would just give up, but looking at the determination on his face, she could tell that it wouldn't be that easy.

"Why not, Ms. Smoak?" he argued. "It's the best option. We'll have a chance to stop these people. You said it yourself that you would need to be in close distance and it looks like they will attend the Gala."

"We don't know that for sure," she pointed out.

"We won't know that until the actual Gala. Are you willing to lose an opportunity like that?" He stepped closer to her and she could feel the puffs of air on her face as he talked.

"I don't know Mr. Queen." She felt as her resolve weakened.

And that was when he used his full charming power. He lifted his hand and took a stray lock of her hair that must have fallen out of her ponytail, between his thumb and forefinger. Felicity's breath caught in her throat. He toyed with her hair a little and then put it behind her ear. "Ms. Smoak," he lowered his voice.

Felicity blinked. Was he flirting with her?

"You'll be my date at the Gala, we'll catch a bad guy together and then we'll enjoy an evening in each other’s company, getting to know one another better. Does that sound good to you?" He looked her straight in the eyes and the lights around them gave his face that glow where he looked all handsome and irresistible.

Her mouth went dry and she licked her lips, thinking about what kind of _getting to know each other_ he had in mind. His eyes followed the movement of her tongue and it wasn't long before she was nodding her head.

His mouth stretched and turned up in the biggest smile she had ever seen on his face. It was beautiful and a little smug, but it served its part.

"Great," he said, stepping back from her. "I'll pick you up at 7." He slowly turned around from her like he didn't want to go anywhere. "Goodnight, Ms. Smoak."

Felicity watched his retreating back with a stupid grin on her face. It was a cold, winter night and she was going on a date with Oliver Queen.

 

When the haze of what had happened lifted from her mind, the grin slipped out of her face and her eyes widened.

 

Wait, _what_ just happened?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My mom helped me with translating this, so I hope it's okay :)  
> YA ne lyublyu, kogda lyudi opazdyvayut. Zakhodite, prezhde chem ya peredumayu. – I don’t like when people are late. Come in, before I change my mind.  
> Vy mozhete skazat' yey, Diggle. YA p'yu. – You can tell her, Diggle. I’m drinking.
> 
> Please, let me know what you think! :)


	2. Part Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow; however the idea for this story is mine.  
> Soundtrack: http://8tracks.com/seetheskyaboveus/oblivion-is-calling-out-your-name-soundtrack  
> A/N: Hey everyone!  
> I’m sorry it took me so long to update, but the editing process is long and then life got in the way.  
> Thank you so much for your feedback! You're the best! It means a lot to me that you like my work and you have time to tell me that.  
> Thank you, The Alternative Source for your time and pointing out things I should add and make better for this part. You’re the best! :)  
> SweetMe86, you are my savior! This would be really, really bad without you and your magic fingers (I mean editing :D). I'm so grateful that you decided to help me!  
> I hope you'll like this one, it's longer and the last two parts will be longer too. :D  
> Enjoy!

_**Part Two** _

Felicity Smoak had her moments.

When she was only seven years old she'd built her first computer. Her mother was so proud of her that she'd let Felicity spent all her pocket money on mint chocolate chip ice cream.

She was twenty years old when she had graduated from MIT at the top of her class. She was on a scholarship and won so many national competitions that she was allowed to take all final exams a year earlier. She'd passed them all with the best scores MIT had seen in the last decade. It wasn't really that hard for her to achieve because it would seem like she had inherited a genius gene from her father's side.

At least he’d left behind one good thing before he'd disappeared from her life.

A couple of weeks later she had gotten a job in the IT Department of Queen Consolidated, and last year, thanks to some clever investments, once she'd saved enough money she had been able to buy her first house which she liked very much.

She was smart, loyal, put together, sober-minded and she cared about people, especially the ones she considered as a family.

But then there were days she did things so out of her character that she didn’t recognize herself.

 

Like when she came up with a ''brilliant'' idea to check out the Triad's meeting at the docks.

 

Everything started when she let Oliver Queen charm his way into making her agree to be his date for the Queen Family Annual Christmas Gala.

She didn't even know how that happened! One moment she was all about protecting her reputation and not letting him win that argument and the next it was like someone had rebooted her brain making her forget about every negative thing she thought about earlier. It was his eyes, it had to be. Those deep pools of blue of never ending mystery she could drown in. The fluttering feeling he'd summoned up from within her…

Wait, why was she even thinking about him? She was mad at him! He'd tricked her! And she should have known better. She didn't want to be his date, she was stubborn and she had to think about something to get her out of that situation.

Her brain came up with the first inklings towards a plan.

The next thing that drove her closer to this whole idea happened yesterday evening, when she got back home. John visited her to talk some more about her new assignment. Felicity, still hoping that maybe she could get out of the date, asked him why they couldn’t just check the location she gave them. Apparently it was too risky, because any Bratva member seen in an underground club which was the Triad hideout, screamed "suspicious". Then she learnt that Oliver Queen wasn't planning to send his people to the meeting at the docks and Felicity thought it was a terrible move. What shocked Felicity the most was that John actually agreed with his boss's plan. According to him it was better to solve the issue on Bratva territory because at least they would be able to control the situation and John would be more at ease if he had his eyes on her.

That was the moment she felt like she didn't have another choice but to do something herself. If the Bratva Captain was so stupid to miss such a great opportunity to learn the Triad's next move then _she_ would go to the meeting. With her hacking device on hand she could hack any information from these people's drives. If they had any, that is. If not, she would just eavesdrop and hopefully the things she would hear would be enough for Oliver Queen.

She would make sure that John stayed safe far away from the Triad _and_ she would get away from her date.

A perfect plan.

Until it wasn't.

* * *

The night was cold, but the snow had stopped falling earlier that day. There wasn't a lot of it left, just enough to cover the streets of Starling City in a thin layer of fluffy snow.

She was at the docks exactly twenty minutes before the time and she stayed in her car to check if anyone was coming. In the last moment, before she left her house she'd taken a pint of mint chip with her so she could eat while she waited. She was stress eating and what she felt at that moment could definitely be categorized as high level stress. She wasn't stupid. She knew how bad that night could end for her, but since Oliver Queen tricked her and ignored every lead they had, she felt that she had to do something. Even if it terrified her so much she almost turned around to go back home before anything happened.

She had prepared for her night mission. She watched a lot of movies to know that she should blend in with her surroundings. She wore black from head to toe; she even had tied her ponytail with a black rubber hair band and wore contacts.

Felicity wondered why the Bratva Captain wasn't doing anything to help his Bratva family. First he asked for her help and then he just focused on his Gala like it was the only way to stop the Triad. But it wasn't. Her being at the docks right now proved that and she couldn't understand what he was trying to do by ignoring his other options. And he had a lot of them besides the ones she just mentioned. For example he could contact his informants to find out if the Triad was planning an assassination. In the movies Felicity watched, mafia always tried to blow something up or shoot at people to make a statement. And Felicity liked her body in one piece. She enjoyed being far away from the bullets as well.

The Bratva was powerful and they could crush the Triad before they made a move. But Oliver Queen chose to stay back and wait.

On the other hand he could have a plan he didn't tell anyone about and maybe he knew what he was doing. Felicity didn't have another choice but to trust his actions even if her pride forced her to do something she normally wouldn't.

 

Felicity had been in her car for some time now. There was still time for the meeting to happen, but she couldn't see anyone near the location she was at. It was strange and when after a while no one was coming, she checked if her position was right. Of course this had to be the time to prove that she wasn't always a genius. In the hassle of trying not to be late, instead of being at the north side of the docks she had driven to the south side.

How very blonde of her.

Groaning out loud, she turned her car around and as quickly as she could, she drove to the right side of the docks. It wasn't a long drive, just a minute or two, but she couldn't be late if she wanted to gather some information tonight.

When she was at the right place a thought accured to her. The last time she did something like this, John knew she followed him around. What if whoever was meeting here would find out about her presence as well? She couldn't back away right now when she had come so far already, even if every obstacle on her way tempted her to go back home. After deliberating for a moment she did the only thing she didn't do the last time.

She ditched her car.

She parked it behind a long column of containers and after taking her hacking device with her, she left the car. She didn't take more than a couple of steps, before she was turning around to get her mace. She wasn't that stupid to go anywhere without a protection of some kind. Maybe she wasn't trained to take out an opponent with a single strike like John, but she had a mean aim when it came to handling her mace.

She wandered between a labyrinth of steel containers for a while, because let's be honest, she had no idea where she was supposed to go. She was murmuring under her breath about how stupid this idea turned out to be and how stubborn she had to be sometimes. But she wouldn't let this end that way.

 

Felicity sighed after a few minutes and stopped at the end of the column, leaning against one of the containers. Let's face it. No one was coming and all she did by coming here was a waist of a perfect night she could have spent catching up on her favorite TV shows. She didn't even finish her ice cream which by now had probably melted inside her car. Now she was cold, tired and she just wanted to get back home already, and it was all Oliver Queen's fault!

 

Then she heard muffled voices coming from the far side of the docks.

 

Felicity ducked behind the container not wanting anyone to see her. Her heart started to beat faster and she had to take in a couple of deep breathes to calm herself. She could do this. She was a strong and capable woman. She had this under control.

After a moment the voices came closer and she could hear two men talking in what sounded like Chinese.

 _Please, make them switch to English_ , Felicity thought, closing her eyes for a second. So far her plan sucked.

The men were engaged in a heated conversation and that gave her some time to peer out of her hiding spot so she could take in the situation.

The men were standing exactly in front of her hiding place. That was great for her because they couldn't see her even when she was looking at them. One of them was slim and Chinese and the other one was really muscular and looked like an American. Both of them looked scary, especially when they started to argue with each other.

Finally after a moment the Chinese one switched to English as he threw his hands up in the air. "Look, I don't have time for this. Do you have the files or not? China White doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"I've got them right here." The muscular guy took something out of his pocket. When the Chinese man reached for it, the American yanked his hand out of his reach. "Ah, ah, ah! Not so fast. It's not just the files." He sounded excited and when he opened his palm, Felicity could see that what he was holding was a flash drive.

Damn it! It wasn't a drive she could hack without plugging it into something and she didn't have access to any technology able to hack a flash drive from a distance. If only she could get her hands on that drive...

"This flash drive," the guy continued. "Is everything China White could ask for. She has information about the Undertaking on it and the steps the Magician took to make it work. But the most important part is that this is a better version of the spyware program she tried to hack the Bratva with."

Felicity's eyes widened at that. Now she knew the name of the person behind the attack. But who was this China White woman?

"All she needs to do is plug this in to the computer at the Queen Mansion and the device will do the rest. It'll need a couple of minutes but then she'll have all the information she needs to take down the Bratva."

Felicity had to cover her mouth with her hand to stop herself from gasping out loud.

The Triad wanted to get rid of the Bratva. They really wanted to do that. After all this time their failures didn't teach them anything.

This couldn't end well. Whatever this Undertaking was it couldn't be good and she had to tell Oliver Queen about this. But more importantly she had to destroy the device. If the Triad was successful at the Queen Family Annual Christmas Gala they could endanger a lot of people. They could endanger _John_.

That moment she was sure of one thing. They could start a war.

Felicity didn't know what to do. How was she supposed to destroy the device if she couldn't even get to it without being made? All she had was a bottle of mace that wouldn't do anything serious to that muscular man and the Chinese one who probably knew karate. Something told her that her rambling skills wouldn't do much good either.

What she wouldn't do right now to have John with her. He would kick their asses. She should have told him about this. He would have known what to do.

Before she could get herself in a self-pity party a loud crash from the meeting place startled her and made her look again in that direction.

 

What she saw next literally left her dumbfounded.

 

The Starling City Vigilante appeared out of nowhere. He jumped from a roof of the container and landed between Triad members taking out the Chinese guy with a single hit of an arrow. The man screamed and fell on the concrete floor. Felicity gasped and her eyes widened when she saw that his eyes were closed.

Oh God, did the Vigilante kill him?

Another scream caught her attention and she turned her head in time to see the Vigilante putting the muscular man in a choke hold.

She wanted to do something. Help them or distract him so they could fight back and then she realized that her reaction was ridiculous. _They_ were the bad guys. They wanted to harm the Bratva, harm John and she wanted to help them?

But the Vigilante wasn't much better. He took justice into his own hands and decided who was good and who the wicked. He was ruthless and he didn't think twice about taking a life. Felicity was terrified of his methods. Maybe that's why she wanted to help someone he was hurting.

When the men lay still on the pavement she realized it was over. She took in a shuddering breath and looked at the Vigilante.

His head was bowed like he was admiring his work. Felicity didn't understand what he was doing until he changed his hold on the bow and crouched in front of the bodies. He took something out of the unmoving hand of the American and when he examined it in front of his face she saw what he was holding.

The device.

She felt a wave of anger hit her suddenly, making Felicity narrow her eyes at his hand.

 _Oh, no you won't_.

He would not take that drive if she had something to say about this, Vigilante or not. She didn't waste her night just so she would come back empty-handed. It was her ticket to finding a way to keep John away from the Triad's reach. She couldn't lose it right now. God knows what the Vigilante would do with that device. She was sure that he would do more harm than good.

She was scared before, but now she was pissed and it was enough to make her bold and do the thing she did next.

 

She confronted the Vigilante.

 

She stepped out of the shadows of her hideout, making herself appear more confident and intimidating. "I'm sorry, but you'll have to hand me that drive." She was surprised that her voice didn't shake as she said that. In fact it sounded hard and sure of what she was saying.

The moment the Vigilante sensed her presence he stood up quickly, taking an arrow from his quiver and aimed it at her. She didn't even flinch when he did that and that made her feel better about this situation.

The first time she'd heard about the Masked Vigilante was six months ago after he saved Oliver Queen and his best friend Tommy Merlyn from kidnapping. She was curious about him. What were his reasons to do what he did for the city or as some said _to_ the city? Why did he kill people? Who was he?

Felicity thought that what he did, saving the city from the bad people, was good and could be better if not for the body count. If he claimed to be on the right side of the law then why did he take so many lives?

 

The Vigilante was watching her and she could swear he was actually surprised to see someone like her at the end of the line of his shot. It made her only straighten her back and look at him with hard eyes. It reminded her of yesterday as the Bratva Captain regarded her with the same kind of judging look. But she knew who he was unlike the person hiding behind the hood. She kept her cool thinking about John.

A moment full of tension passed between them and then the Vigilante shook his head slightly, lowering his bow. "And what if I don't?" His voice was hidden behind a voice modulator and it sounded rough and heavy.

Felicity's eyes fluttered a little and without her permission goosebumps appeared on her skin. It made her even angrier that her body reacted like that to someone like him. She clenched her hand around the hacking device, mentally stopping herself from hacking his communications. The thought that with a few keystrokes she could decrypt his voice modulator and hear the real tone of his voice was tempting. Would it be as rough and throaty as behind the modulator?

What was wrong with her? He was a criminal!

"Then I'll have to take it from you," she stated.

The blunt way she'd said that made the adrenaline flow through her veins. Where did she find that courage? This was the Vigilante she was talking to! Who knew what he could do to her. She was sure that under different circumstances she would be terrified of him; she tried not to think about the bodies that were lying not so far from her. But her head was wrapped too much around the reasons to be there to feel that she was in danger and be afraid of that.

The Vigilante smirked at her reply, and faster than she could think he closed the distance between them. She couldn't help but take a step back when she felt his intimidating presence. His smirk widened at that and she knew it was a wrong move because now he knew she wasn't as brave as she tried to sell it. But she was determined enough. If she could save John's life she would do whatever it took.

"You can always _try_ ," he said after a moment and it was the last nail to the coffin of Felicity's frustration. She knew it was a stupid move, but in the movies it worked so she took her chances.

She threw her hand with the mace in it up and aimed it at the general direction of his eyes, hidden behind the hood. She pressed the release button, but before the stream of fluid reached his eyes his hand shot up and hit her wrist. The movement caused her hand to fly sideways and the bottle of mace fell from her grip. She heard the clatter of it as it hit the pavement and the next thing she knew, she had her hand twisted behind her back. The momentum of this action made her stumble into him and she put her hand on his chest to catch herself before she fell.

She was pressed so close to him that she could feel the heat coming off of his leather outfit. Her nose brushed on the exposed skin of his throat and his hand pressed harder against her lower back. She lifted her head and when her gaze locked with his, her breath hitched at the intensity of his eyes.

It was dark and she couldn't see his face, but she had a feeling that she knew him somehow. He was a lot taller than her. In fact he towered over her, making her feel small and vulnerable. She barely reached his chin when she had three inch heels on her feet and she was irritated by that. The way he held her down made her nervous about what he could do to her now, but he didn't make a move to hurt her and that calmed her beating heart a little.

"Nice try, but I’m taking the drive."

When he talked his breath fanned across her forehead. She felt its warmth and then the smell of him filled her senses. It was musky and strong, blended with the smell of his leathers, making a dangerous combination. She almost closed her eyes at the sensation.

Felicity wanted to be angry at him but her body decided to do other things. She was breathing hard and with every inhale her breasts brushed against his chest. She was sure he could feel that too, she thought she heard a soft groan escape his lips. Her palm was still pressed against his chest and she could definitely feel how his body flexed against the cool material of his suit. He groaned when he felt that too and her still pressed to his body palm flexed against the cool material.

She had to do something because her resolve was weakening fast and when that happened she did stupid things.

 

Like when she agreed to go on a date with Oliver Queen.

 

And just like that she got her voice back. "I'm not done yet." Her mind added: "you gargantuan ass. No matter how good you look in leathers."

One corner of his deliciously looking mouth tipped upwards, making a ridiculously sexy smirk. She knew then that her mouth again decided to run ahead of her brain and say the last part out loud. She flushed in an equal amount of anger and embarrassment. She was supposed to be intimidating!

"It's a shame that I have to go, then," He dipped his head slightly and his lips brushed against her earlobe.

Felicity realized two things then. One: he had stubble on his cheeks because it scratched her a little, leaving a trail of goosebumps on her neck. Two: her ears were her newly discovered erogenous zone, because a single touch could make her body feel like it was on fire. And the Vigilante was the second man who did that to her. The first one she didn't want to mention because it was his fault that she got in trouble in the first place.

"But maybe next time you can show me what _else_ you can do," he said, his voice low and with every word his lips made contact with her ear. She let out an involuntary whimper because the feeling of it hit her straight in her core. She couldn't help the images of what he implied filling her imagination.

Before she could react somehow the Vigilante took his hand off of her and stepped back. Not waiting any longer he pivoted to the right and took off leaving her alone with her heated thoughts.

"I'm the only one who can decrypt that!" she yelled at his retreating form. She might have lied about that, but she was grabbing at her last ideas. It didn't work and she'd lost everything that could point her in the right direction to help John.

 

She was stupid. How could she waste that kind of an opportunity?! Now she didn't have a choice but to go to the Gala on Oliver Queen's arm.

All of this probably happened because she didn't get laid for longer than she wanted to think. Oliver Queen and the Vigilante were the first men since college who made her body respond to their every touch. And she didn't know why. It left her confused. It was like she didn't have control over her own reactions. She had met them only once but it felt like her body had its own mind in their presence. Their presence made her literally forget where she was and what she was doing. She wasn't herself with them.

If only she had a grip on her hormones she wouldn't have said yes to Oliver Queen and she definitely wouldn't have let the Vigilante take that drive from her. Instead of thinking about the things she should do to help John, her brain thought that it was more interesting to ogle the Vigilante's retreating backside.

An _impressive,_ covered in leathers backside.

_Ugh._

She really needed to get laid.

* * *

When Felicity got back home she was so tired that the only thing she thought about was getting a hot shower and falling asleep. For like a year. Before she left the docks she'd made an anonymous call to the police so they could take care of the bodies the Vigilante left behind. She did that from her car because if she'd spent any moment longer in the crime scene she would have probable fainted.

Now she tried to shut off her brain and entirely focus on the way the water made her muscles relax. She didn't think about the Vigilante, Oliver Queen or how much she had screwed up tonight. The only thing that made it better was that she was alright and nothing really bad happened to her.

When she'd finished with her shower she felt so peaceful and relaxed that she was ready to think about finding a new way to get everyone out of that stupid situation. She put on her long, comfy pajama pants with little Tardis prints on it and a beige tank top. Humming a Christmas song under her breath she made her way into the kitchen for a glass of water.

 

The tune of the song died in her throat when she stepped into her living room and spotted a figure standing in the middle of the room.

 

She didn't think, she just reacted.

She grabbed a lamp standing on the table to her right and threw it at the intruder. He caught it and when Felicity was about to throw something else at his head, he took a step closer to her. The faint light of her Menorah illuminated the figure and she would recognize that green leather outfit anywhere.

What the hell was the Vigilante doing in her house?! And how did he know where she lived?! Oh, God, he was going to kill her!

The fear paralyzed her in a second, sending a cold shiver through her spine.

"Calm down, Ms. Smoak. I'm not going to hurt you.'' He outstretched his hand, showing her that he came in peace. ''I need your help."

"How do you know who I am?" She didn't take her eyes of him. Panic still held her in a tight grip, but her hand moved to the light switch.

"Don't turn the lights on." He stopped her, before she reached the switch. "I have my ways. I need you to decrypt that drive." He took the flash drive out from the inside of his jacket.

It was the device he took from her. He came here looking for her help, but earlier he didn't even let her lay a single finger on it. The feeling of distress disappeared just as quickly as it had appeared. She wanted to laugh.

"Now you're giving me the drive? Great." Felicity scoffed.

He was ridiculous. This whole thing was ridiculous. _She_ was ridiculous because she didn't kick him out of her townhouse yet. He might be the big bad Vigilante, but he broke into her home. She could call the cops. But she reconsidered that idea when she remembered that there were plenty of times when the police could have caught him and yet he was still on the loose. He could get what he wanted from her and disappear before the police would get here. Felicity didn't have a choice; she had to listen to him.

"I believe that you're just as curious about what's on it as I am," he said swiftly and waited for her response.

Felicity eyed him curiously. He knew she wanted to get to that drive and now he was tempting her with it to get what he wanted. She could help him, but then he would have all the information from the drive. Or she could decline and stay in the dark as well. She eyed the desk in her living room thoroughly, noticing a few flash drives lying around her laptop.

And just like that she had a plan. It was risky, she knew that, but it was worth it if she could retrieve that data from him.

"Okay, I'll help you," she agreed, sighing and made grabby hands at him. "You need to give me the drive so I can plug it in to my laptop. Without it I can't hack it," she explained, observing him.

After a pregnant pause when she thought he wouldn't do it, he put the drive into her waiting hand and stepped back before she could get a better look at his face in the dimmed candlelight.

Felicity plugged the device into her laptop and when it loaded she started her work on it. Basically it was running on the same program as the one she hacked at the Queen Mansion, but it had been upgraded and she had to bypass two extra security programs before she got to the main part. It looked like the code was written for a specific IP location and Felicity could bet that it matched with the Queen Mansion coordinates. If someone plugged that drive into the main computer in Oliver Queen's office it would automatically download all the data it could find. She had to break that code, but first she needed to get to the information hidden within.

"You were at the docks so I assume you heard everything they said about the device?" she asked without looking at him.

"It can hack the Queen's mainframe, I know," he said so close to her ear that she jumped. How could he walk so silently? Damn his ninja moves. "What I want to know is who the Magician and the Undertaking are. Can you find that information?"

"It hurts me that you have to ask," She said dryly. "If it's on it, I can find it."

She got back to work, ignoring how his close proximity almost made her think about how good it felt to be pressed up so close to him. If she didn't ignore it she would probably jump his bones and that wasn't either professional or something she wanted him to know.

After a moment when she regained her focus, she got an access to the stream of code where the files were stored. There were pictures in there, actually a lot of them and a list full of names she recognized, because it looked like the Vigilante used the same ones when he chose his targets. The last file on the drive was some kind of a recording.

She opened the pictures first and when she saw who was on them she gasped out loud, "Oh, my."

It had to be some kind of a mistake. There were only two people, a woman and a man, on the shots in various types of places. They were always talking or exchanging some documents but that wasn't what shocked Felicity. The man on the pictures was Malcolm Merlyn, Oliver Queen's best friend's father and the woman was no one other than Moira Queen herself.

"There has to be some sort of an explanation for this," she reasoned. "They're friends; it doesn't mean that they are doing something wrong. Someone has to have misunderstood this."

"Play the recording," the Vigilante demanded. Even with his modulator on she could hear that what he saw made him angry.

 

She played the recording.

 

" _I can assure you,_ " a male voice could be heard. " _That no one knows about this, Moira. I was careful when I arranged the meeting_.”

" _That's good._ " Felicity heard Moira Queen's calm voice. " _Tell me Malcolm, does the Triad know that the Magician is no more than a hired assassin with a lot of free time on his hands?_ "

Felicity's eyes winded when she heard that. Malcolm Merlyn was the Magician? What the hell was happening!

Malcolm chuckled and it sounded rough and evil to Felicity's ears. " _No more than one of the Bratva's leaders who wants to destroy her own family._ "

" _All I want is for my children to have a future outside of that life and if that means ending the Bratva reigns inside of Starling City I will do whatever it takes. They already lost their father, they can't lose their souls too,_ " Moira paused. " _And it's not like you gave me a choice Malcolm._ "

Felicity closed her eyes. What Moira said made her feel like whatever they had planned couldn't be good. But she also said that Merlyn didn't give her a choice, maybe he had blackmailed her? Maybe she wasn't bad after all? But what could he have on her that it made her help him with something like that?

" _The Undertaking is going to be the end of that, I can assure you. But tell me, how will the Triad get past the security your son set up around the Mansion?_ "

" _I have already taken care of that. Some of them will be hired as staff for the Gala._ "

" _Good. China White will take care of everything else._ "

The recording stopped at that.

 

There was a deaf silence that stretched on so long Felicity was afraid that it wouldn't leave her house for some time.

She had to tell Oliver Queen about this. He was going to be devastated. She would be if she found out that her own mother wanted to destroy everything she worked for so hard. Maybe it wasn't what he wanted to do, but it was his life and no one could take that choice away from him.

"Can you stop the device from working?" the Vigilante's voice brought her back from her thoughts. "I want it to be unable to download anything from anywhere. Can you do that?"

He surprised her, because to this moment she was sure that he wanted that drive for his own purposes. It looked like she was wrong and that maybe he wanted the same things as her.

"If you give me a minute I'll take care of it." She looked at him and he had his jaw clenched hard like he was stopping himself from doing something stupid.

"Do it."

Hearing the determination in his voice made her start typing. It was probably the first time she agreed with him on something.

After some time she was able to tear the code apart deleting some lines from it and securing it in a way no one besides her could fix. She was actually proud of her work and that made the sting of betrayal hurt a little less. She might not have known Moira Queen, but she would never think that she was capable of selling out her own family. She made her angry because she was putting John's life at risk.

Felicity was sure of one thing in her life. She would never let anything happen to John. He was like a brother she never had and she didn't even want to think about what she would do if someday he would be gone. Maybe, at the beginning she was at the docks for a completely different reason, but when she realized what the Triad wanted to do, all she could think about was protecting John. Even if she was just a regular IT girl she would do whatever it had to be done to stop them from stealing that information.

"All done," Felicity said standing up. Now was the time to get her plan on the road.

The rush of adrenaline in her blood reminded her how bad her plan could end. The Vigilante could hurt her because of what she wanted to do, but she had to be brave if she wanted it to work.

When she stood on her feet she turned, her back to the Vigilante, and she hoped he didn't see what she was doing. She grabbed the flash drive from the laptop and with one fluid movement she switched it with one of the others lying across the desk. She turned around, her heart beating faster than before and she hoped he didn't notice that.

"I assume that you want it back?" She hesitantly handed him the flash drive, grateful that her hands didn't shake. He took it without a second thought. Felicity breathed out a silent sigh of relieve. "What will you do with that information?" she couldn't help but ask.

The Vigilante studied her intently like he didn't know if he should tell her or just disappear without satisfying her curiosity. "Whatever needs to be done to stop this," he replied.

He took a step back and he tilted his head to the side regarding her with a look. His eyes moved over her and he opened and closed his mouth like he wanted to say something, but then thought better of it. After thinking some more he opened his mouth again but she knew that whatever he would say next wouldn't be his first thought. "Thank you, Ms. Smoak."

She nodded slightly. "I would say it was my pleasure, but..." She trailed of and he smiled briefly at her reply.

Felicity watched him for some time. He looked like he had to hold a great burden on his shoulders. And he probably did. No one really knew what he had to do and what kind of things he had witnessed. But whatever it was it left scars on him. Felicity didn't know why, but she was a little worried about him. He was a stranger to her, anyone could be under that hood, but in some ways she felt connected to him.

''Why did you get involved in this?'' the Vigilante asked and she wasn't surprised. Anyone could tell that she was new at this, that she had no idea what she was doing. ''It's a dangerous game, Ms. Smoak. You could end up dead.''

Felicity considered brushing off his question, it's not like she owed him an explanation. But the fact that he didn't do anything to harm her made up her mind. ''It's not a game. It's a serious situation that could put a lot of people in danger,'' she told him. She felt that she needed to make him realize that she wasn't stupid, that she knew how high the stakes were. ''I'm aware of the danger and if you thought for a second that I'm not afraid then you're wrong.'' Her voice started to tremble then. ''I am _terrified,_ '' She admitted out loud for the first time and that showed her how real the situation was. ''I'm terrified of what could happen if the Triad succeeded, I'm terrified of what that would mean to this city. But it won't stop me from at least _trying_ to do the right thing.'' She blinked away the tears that gathered in her eyes when the reality of the danger hit her hard. ''I need to make sure that my friend will be safe. That no one will get harmed in the crossfire. I think that you can understand my reasons.''

The Vigilante was quietly contemplating what she'd said. She knew he understood her actions then, maybe was even impressed that someone like her could be that brave. That she was ready to leave her safe bubble and fight for what was right.

''Understanding doesn't make it easier for me to let someone as innocent as you get involved in this. But I'm sure that you wouldn't back off even if I tried to stop you.''

''You're right.'' Felicity smiled sadly. ''Not when my friend's life is in danger.''

He turned around and took a few steps to her window, but then faced her like he wanted to say something more. ''Make sure that your friend knows how much you're ready to sacrifice for him. Something tells me that he wouldn't be okay with that.'' Then he took off through her living room window.

Felicity stood still for some time. The Vigilante's words were ringing in her ears making her realize how right he was. If John knew what she was doing he would kill her himself. But if he was alright in the end, it didn't matter how angry he would be. They meant too much to each other to lose one another. John would do the same if the roles were reversed. Sometimes she feared that their caring for one another would be the thing that would come between their friendship. What if one day it would be too much and someone got hurt in the process of protecting the other? She wouldn't forgive herself if something happened to him because of her.

 

Felicity shivered when the cold air crawled across her skin. It brought her back to the present and she closed the window behind the Vigilante, making sure that next time he wouldn't be able to open it. Her mind got back on track and her eyes widened when she realized that she actually succeeded in switching the drives.

She had the real drive. She actually tricked the Vigilante! Wow, that felt good. Maybe that night wouldn't end as a total disaster. Now she had to act before he realized she gave him a fake flash drive and come back to retrieve it. And she could bet that it wouldn't end pretty for her.

Grabbing the device from her desk, she quickly put on a coat and some boots lying beside the door. Then she took her car keys and headed out.

She was going to tell Oliver Queen that his mother was working with the Triad.

* * *

Felicity was knocking rapidly on the massive doors of the Queen Mansion for at least five minutes now and still no one was answering. You would think that living in a mansion as big as the Queen's gave them an excuse to hire a doorkeeper. Or two, because seeing how they were welcoming their guests made her rethink her definition of politeness. Okay, technically it was late, sometime after midnight when she’d last checked the clock in her car, but still. They were Russian mob, for God's sake! Did they greet all of their associates this way?

When she drove up to the gate of the Queen Mansion the guards let her in without a second thought. She briefly wondered if she looked that bad with her after-shower frizzy hair and pajama pants that peeked out beneath her coat that they just took pity on her. What else was she supposed to think when a day earlier they wanted to scan her car for the possibility of a bomb hidden somewhere in there?

If the Bratva wanted to keep their cover intact they shouldn't do full on CIA safety protocols on everyone who wanted to talk to their Captain. The press wasn't that stupid to think that the Queen's just didn't know what to do with their money anymore. Eventually they would start sniffing around.

When she knocked again with a little more strength this time, one of the guards standing by the doors finally decided to take pity on her and called out through his ear peace in Russian. Maybe he was just tired of her constantly knocking and fidgeting by the doors. She could be a real pain in the ass when she put her mind to it.

She didn't know what to expect from this. When she left her house she thought she would just tell Oliver Queen everything and that would probably be the end of it. But as she drove to the Mansion she was so paranoid that she actually believed that the Vigilante was following her on a bike.

Yes, she was that stupid.

Her paranoia disappeared the moment the bike took a left turn a couple of streets before the exit to the Queen's property.

Now, as she stood outside the doors to the Mansion she was thinking that maybe she shouldn't tell Oliver Queen how exactly she had gotten her hands on that device. Oliver Queen didn't have the reputation of a ruthless leader for nothing. If she told him what she had done tonight she didn't even want to think of what he would do to her. Felicity was sure he wouldn't hurt her, at least physically, because she knew he wouldn't cross that line. But she should be expecting at least a long, loud and _scary_ speech about what she could and couldn't do when she worked for the Bratva.

And that thought right there made her angry because she didn't belong to anyone. She had a right to make her own choices and she was doing him a favor, he wasn’t paying her or anything. She wasn't his employee and when this was over she would gladly show him that. She could be afraid of him when he acted all Bratva on her, but she wouldn't let him intimidate her when she did a good job tonight. Reckless, but good.

 

The doors opened with a loud screech and Roy's head peeked out from the space between the wall and the doorframe. "What the hell is your problem?! It's the middle of the night and some people are trying to sleep!" He rubbed his eyes with his fists not caring to look at who was standing by the doors.

Felicity tried not to laugh, because he looked like a kicked puppy with this whole sleepy look. "Do you greet all your guests like that?" she asked, trying to sound irritated but her amused voice didn’t let her.

Roy looked at her then and his whole face flushed red. Well, good to know he could be embarrassed too. She would definitely try to remember that.

"Blondie, what are you doing here?" he cleared his throat.

"I have something important to show to Mr. Queen. And no, it couldn't wait 'till morning." She didn't let him say anything when he opened his mouth to do so. "Important, remember?"

"Right," he sounded like he didn't believe that, but he opened the doors to let her in. When she stepped inside the Mansion he regarded her with a look like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. "What are you wearing?" Roy looked at her stupidly. His brows practically molded with his hair.

Felicity only raised her eyebrow at him, because tonight she'd had enough and she wouldn't let his attitude get to her. "It’s pajamas. I'm sure you've seen them before. I was trying to have a good night of sleep too."

"Right," he repeated himself, not appreciating her attempt at a joke. "Come with me, before I change my mind and leave you out in the cold."

"But you've already let me inside," Felicity pointed out and tried to keep up, when he took off to his boss's office. It looked like he really _desperately_ wanted to get back to bed. She wondered what he was doing there and then _eww_ , she didn't need that image of Thea Queen in her mind.

"I can still kick you out!" He sounded frustrated and Felicity only grinned at that. He was such a child when someone was teasing him. Maybe her experience in this house wouldn’t be such a disaster after all. At least he took her mind off the things she was afraid of.

Their trip ended faster than she wanted it to and she found herself in front of the doors of her doom.

Roy didn't give her time to prepare for the worst, just opened the door slightly without knocking. "Hey, boss!" he shouted startling Felicity. "Blondie's here! She said it's important!" He listened then and didn't step inside, so she assumed that it was his way to respect his boss's privacy.

After a moment they could hear a loud groan and Oliver Queen's hard voice as he said, "Let her in."

Roy turned to her with an evil glint in his eyes. "Have at it, Blondie." And then he left.

She watched his retreating form for a moment, not understanding what he meant by that. She furrowed her brows and decided to just bite the bullet.

She pushed the doors ajar and slowly stepped inside the room. Like the day before it was lit by the fireplace and a small lamp standing in the corner. She was greeted by the sound of another groan and hard breathing, but she couldn't see anyone. She wondered what Oliver Queen was doing because the sounds he made were leaving a little to her imagination.

When another hard groan sounded from the direction of his desk, her eyes followed the source of it and she froze in place.

 

Oliver Queen was getting up from the floor after finishing a series of pushups.

 _Shirtless_.

 

He was in loose, gray sweatpants that hugged his hips in a way she had to stop herself from licking her lips. It hung so low that with a single tug of her fingers they could fall from his hips and show her what he was hiding underneath.

That was the first time she’d seen him in casual clothes. If this look could be describe as dressed. She couldn’t make up her mind if she liked him more in his suit or when he was almost naked. Her eyes traveled up to the defined abs of his toned stomach and she saw as they flexed with every move he made.

Oh, she _definitely_ liked him more looking like this.

She must have dozed off for a second because in the next moment he was wiping himself with a towel. She followed the move of his hand as it rubbed his chest and throat, and down, _down_ 'till he reached the hem of his sweatpants.

 

That's when she noticed his scars.

 

She would have seen them the moment he stood up, just been too _distracted_ to notice. They were puckered and angry-red, in some places white, showing her that they were the oldest ones. There were burn marks on his skin and she felt as her heart tightened when she realized that he was tortured. Some of these scars could be from his fights for the Bratva, but she knew the rest of them had to have come from the island.

Her heart was hurting for him, but not because she pitied him, far from it in fact. Her heart was hurting because he survived so much pain and suffering and still he was alive and he didn't try to hide the proof of it from her - a complete stranger.

Her gaze moved again taking him in. He was a beautiful and strong man. His Bratva tattoo showed proudly on the left side of his pectoral. Lower, on the right side of his ribs she saw tattooed Chinese pattern and she was curious of what it represented.

 

A throat being cleared made her realize that she was staring at him.

 

She felt as her cheeks and neck flushed and she couldn't fight the wave of heat that hit her body. What could she say? He was built like a freaking Greek god and it was really hard not to admire all of those muscles.

Her eyes slowly collided with his and instead of finding anger in them she was met with a dark gaze that caused her to gasp. He was studying her and if she was reading him right he appreciated her wandering eyes. One corner of his lips pulled up into a self-satisfied little smirk like he knew what he did to her.

That smug bastard.

"Did something happen Ms. Smoak?" He threw the towel on his desk and took a hold of a white t-shirt that she didn't see lying on the desk as well. "It's really late."

Felicity tried to answer him, but her voice failed her. She had to swallow loudly before it felt like she was able to form a sentence. "You have to show me- I mean, _I_ have to show you!" She closed her eyes fearing that anything she would say next could sound inappropriate. "Something... and you're not going to like it." When she gathered enough courage to open her eyes again he was putting his shirt on and she fought with the urge to yell at him not to do that.

His biceps flexed with his movements and she swallowed hard watching him. She was pathetic.

He was in front of her in a second and she smelled his cologne mixed with perspiration.

Ugh, it was harder than she thought it would be to stop herself from doing something stupid. It felt like he was doing this on purpose. Mocking her until she snapped. Oliver Queen was no better than the Vigilante. They could start a club " _how to get a woman to be dying with need for you_ ". They could definitely give other men tips on that.

"What is it Ms. Smoak?" His eyes were gentle but his voice full of intent.

She took the drive out from the pocket of her coat and showed it to him. "I've got the information you need to stop the Triad."

And then John barged in to the room like he already knew what she had done.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but I must have heard you wrong. Did you just say that you went to the docks, _alone_ , _at night_ and decided to get the drive from _the Vigilante_ who earlier killed the Triad members who originally were exchanging the information?" John looked at Felicity like he didn’t recognize her. "Are you stupid?!" he shouted.

"Well, when you put it that way it does kind of sound stupid." Felicity tried not to squirm under his hard gaze.

When earlier she decided to tell them what had happened up to the moment she left the docks she was ready for their outburst. But what she got was a long moment filled with silence which was so thick that when John finally shouted at her she breathed out, glad that she didn't have to stay in the quiet anymore.

Oliver Queen probably surprised her the most. He wasn't yelling at her like Felicity expected. He stood by his desk, his body rigid with tension as he watched the exchange between Felicity and John. His jaw was set and his eyes dark but this time it wasn't that kind of gaze she wanted to see. He looked like he was minutes from exploding and Felicity was afraid that his outburst would be ten times worse than John's.

"He could have _killed_ you!" he continued his lecture and it looked like he wasn't anywhere near the end of it.

"I had it under control!" Felicity decided it was time to finish this stupid argument and tell them about the rest. "I kind of maced him so I was perfectly fine!" So she colored the truth a little, sue her. John didn't need to know everything. Like the fact that she had been ogling the Vigilante. "I know that you are angry at me, but there's more to it and I would like to get this over with before the night ends!"

"You think I'm angry, Felicity? I'm _furious_! You think you can do stupid things like that and that nothing will happen to you?! Well, _guess_ what Felicity!" his voice grew louder. "In this world you can be killed for stupider things or worse! And for future reference I would like to know when you decide to do something like that so I can stop you before I get to identify your _body_!"

Felicity flinched. She felt like he'd slapped her in the face and maybe she deserved that. She said she didn't know what she would do if something happened to John, but she made him experience the same kind of feeling. That was what she talked about when she said they couldn't compromise when it came to their safety. John's brother was murdered by a Triad member named Deadshot. She understood his need to keep her safe, but he needed to come to terms with her protecting him as well.

Felicity closed her eyes, trying to gather her thoughts. "John I understand that you worry about me." She sighed. "But I'm a grown woman and I know when something is beyond my capabilities," she assured him. "I know that you would do the same thing if it was me that was in danger, so don't tell me otherwise. Now, can we please get back to the main reason why I'm here?" she pleaded with him.

He didn't answer her but he didn't yell anymore either so she took that as her cue to tell them the rest.

She took in a deep breath preparing herself for John's next outburst. "Before you start yelling at me again I need you to know that I don't regret what I did next and I feel like it wasn't anything that dangerous and if I didn't do that I wouldn't have had this drive with me right now so I feel like you can't hold that against me too," she babbled and when she finished she was out of breath. Then she just blurted it out, "I helped the Vigilante to decrypt the drive and then I gave him a fake one and stole the original."

"You did _what_?!" John started, but before he had a chance to finish his sentence she saw Oliver Queen's renowned control snap.

In one long step he was in her personal space and she could swear he growled at her in Russian, but then switched to English like he remembered that she had no idea what he was saying to her. "You, Felicity Smoak, are the most infuriating woman I have _ever_ met." He wasn't yelling, but his voice was so low and hard that she would prefer it if he yelled at her. He was scaring her when he talked like that and that was probably what he wanted to accomplish. He wanted her to be scared of him. "The Vigilante is _a killer_ and he wouldn't think twice about killing you if he knew that you were working for the Bratva," he practically snarled it at her. "You think you can do whatever you want with my business without asking for permission and that it will go unnoticed by anyone? My word is _final_ and if you _ever_ question it again you'll learn what I do with people that disobey me.”

She felt overwhelmed by him. Something low in her belly shifted when he let her see his Bratva Captain facade which was terrifying. She watched him with wide eyes and it looked like John was trying to interfere before something bad happened because he stepped closer to them. Oliver Queen stared at her trying to intimidate her and it almost worked.

Almost.

When what he said registered with her mind her body refused to give in to the urge to curl up in the corner and cry. She stepped closer, their noses almost touching and she used the most controlled voice she could muster. "You, Mr. Queen, mistook me for someone that I am _not._ " She saw the moment he understood that she wasn't afraid of him anymore. "I am _not_ a woman you can use however you would like to. I am _not_ your property, which means that you can't tell me what I can and cannot do," she said it slowly so his thick and big-headed mind could understand what she meant. "I am doing you _a favor_ and that means that I'll do what I want to do, to end your big Bratva problem and if you don't like this I can walk out of your life right this moment. It’s _my_ life, _my_ choice." What she said felt like a turning point in their partnership. She felt brave saying that and if this was anyone else she would probably be paying for that right now.

Felicity was challenging him with her eyes, breathing hard from the effort it took her to stand still on her toes because she wanted to be on his level. His eyes traveled across her face looking for soft spots, but she didn't show him any even if her heart tried to jump out of her chest.

When he responded, his eyes softened and she realized that she finally earned his respect. "Very well, Ms. Smoak. You can show us what you have found."

Her eyes fell shut at that and she breathed out relieved. She really didn't know if he would listen to her. He was a dangerous man to mess with. But now she was sure that Oliver Queen was a man who could compromise even if he didn't want to.

 

She took the drive and showed them what she found. This time her predictions about how Oliver Queen would react were right.

He looked shattered and what stood out the most was that he didn't try to hide it. His eyes flashed with hurt and betrayal. He paced around the room asking her to play the recording again and again like he thought that the next time, the voice of his mother would disappear from it. He ran his hand over his face and hair frustrated and finally he picked up the vase from his desk and threw it against the wall.

Felicity jumped slightly when it shattered and John put his hand on her shoulder, calming her. He was shocked too. Maybe not on the same level as his boss but it was there.

Felicity felt drained as the events from that night took a toll on her. She was tired and emotionally drained and she didn't know what to do next. Oliver Queen seemed to know that, because he faced them and said something in Russian to John.

Then his eyes landed on her. "Diggle, could you give me and Ms. Smoak a minute alone?" he said not taking his eyes off her.

John looked like he didn't want to, but after a second his palm slipped from her shoulder and she heard as the doors closed behind him. Felicity’s body went rigid in her seat in front of Oliver Queen's computer. She didn't know what to expect from him right now and it had to show on her face because he smiled sadly at her.

"You don't have to be afraid of me, Ms. Smoak. If I wanted to do something to you, you would have known that by now." He stepped closer to her.

She relaxed slightly. "What's on your mind, Mr. Queen?"

He chuckled darkly. "There's so much of it that I don't even know where to start." He did that move when he rubbed his thumb and forefinger together and Felicity thought he did that when he was trying to keep his mask on. "Thank you for your work tonight, Ms. Smoak," he said finally and her brows shot up. "Don't get me wrong, I'm still very angry with you, because what you did was stupid and dangerous," he clarified. "But without you we wouldn't have known what we do now so... thank you," he said gently so she could see that what he said was genuine.

Even when she shattered his world to pieces he was thanking her because she didn't lie. And that said something about him; like that he couldn't trust many people. And that she was one of those people who he _could_ trust.

Felicity stood up and circled his desk so she could be near him. "You are very welcome." She smiled softly.

Oliver Queen answered her with his own rare smile and her chest felt warmer at that. When he smiled it did something with his face. It made it brighter and you could think that whatever had happened to him was forgotten for a single moment. When he smiled it seemed like everything was going to be okay.

He stepped closer to her. "There's one more thing I have to ask of you." She fixed her eyes on him. "I need you to trust me that I know what I'm doing with this. When I decide to not engage then I have a reason for that. I'm not stupid to ignore the things we can do to stop the Triad from hacking the Bratva’s mainframe. I chose the Gala to make our move for a reason. And I need you to _trust_ me that I can keep you safe when we take them down.''

He was looking at her with an open face like he was asking her to believe in him. His eyes were so sure of themselves and full of wisdom that she realized that he really _did_ have a plan from the beginning. He was good at masking his moves and now she saw that all.

The Bratva was an organization she shouldn't get involved with for so many reasons. Her safety was one. She could go to jail for doing favors for them. Her entire life could change, it already had. But just like she told the Vigilante, it wouldn't stop her from doing the right thing. And they had the resources to stop this like no one else did.

''I never said that you were stupid.'' Felicity bit her lower lip, shaking her head a little. ''I think that you’re a lot smarter than you let people to believe.''

His eyes crinkled at the corners and she knew he was grateful for her words. ''Just promise me, you won't do anything reckless like that again. If you want this partnership to work, I have to know that I don't have to be worried about what you can do behind my back next.'' She sighed and gave him a nod. She didn't need to be reminded of what could go wrong. ''What was the real reason that you went to the meeting?" She furrowed her brows at his question. "I know you did that to help Diggle, but there has to be another reason, am I right?"

If she thought that she was finally able to read him, he surprised her because he read her better. She wasn't exactly subtle when she argued with him about the Gala, but she'd hoped that he wouldn't think she had a hidden agenda to do what she did. Felicity hesitated. She didn't want to tell him that she was trying to get out of the date, but she had just earned his trust and she didn't want to lose it because she was afraid of what he would think.

She told him the truth.

Hurt flashed across his face, but he masked it pretty quickly with anger. "Am I that disgusting that you would risk your life just so you wouldn't have to be my date?"

That made her pause. Did he really think about himself like that?

She wished he could see himself through her eyes. She wished he could see that he wasn't that arrogant and selfish boy anymore. That he wasn't like any other man she'd met before. He was stoic but it didn't mean that he wasn't kind, perceptive and watchful and strong-willed. She thought that he was hiding so much good in his heart because he didn't want his people to see that as a weakness. But really it was his strength. It made him a better man because he could admit that he wanted something even if he thought that he didn't deserve that.

He was a complicated mixture of emotions and she had a problem with understanding how he worked and what he made her feel. He was a mystery she needed to solve even if that would be the last thing she did. She was attracted to him, but also she felt this strange pull between them that went deeper than physical attraction. By the looks he gave her sometimes she knew he considered her as beautiful and she was confused because she didn't know what that meant. Everything was happening so fast and she couldn't wrap her mind around it.

He was so far away from being disgusting in her eyes, but the thought that he felt like that made her sad. She didn’t tell him any of that; she just caught his forearm when he tried to turn away from her.

"You are not disgusting. I’m the problem here." He scoffed at that, not looking at her. "I am!" she argued. "I'm not your type, Mr. Queen." He fixed his eyes on her not understanding. "I'm not a model or a leggy brunette or whoever the press likes to see you with," she clarified. "I'm an IT girl with glasses who likes to eat a burger. I ramble a lot and don't know a thing about the etiquette the rich people would like to see from me."

And that was the truth. She was none of these things. She knew she was beautiful, but more in a librarian kind of way and she wasn't stupid. People wouldn't believe for a second that Oliver Queen was interested in someone like her. Their only thought would be that she was his new flavor of the week. And she didn't want to feel like that.

Then he did something unexpected. He grabbed her hands in his and lowered his head to be on her level. "You're right. You're not my usual type." Her eyes dropped from his, feeling bitter that he had to admit that, but now at least he understood that. "And that's good because my usual type has got nothing on you." Her eyes snapped to his again and she saw the honesty of his words in his gaze. He squeezed her hands lightly. "Felicity Smoak, you're remarkable."

An odd sensation went through her in that moment and she blushed like a tomato, but she managed to answer him with a shy smile. "Thank you for remarking on it, Mr. Queen."

"Oliver. It's Oliver," he corrected her slowly. "Mr. Queen was my father.”

"But he died." Felicity's eyes winded. "I mean he drowned." She shook her head at that. "And you didn't, which means that you can listen to me babble, which will end in 3...2...1." She snapped her mouth shut. Oliver Que- _Oliver_ just tilted his head to the side, his mouth twisted in obvious amusement. She cleared her throat. "Well if I can call you Oliver, I think you should call me Felicity, not Ms. Smoak."

"Felicity," he tried, her name rolling out of his tongue so easily it sent shivers down her spine.

"Oliver," she tried as well and it felt right. The sound of his name slipping from her mouth made him more normal. Someone she could be friends with. "I should get going, it's late." She untangled her hands from his slowly. She already missed their heat on hers, but she chose to ignore it. "And John probably wants to yell at me a little more, so..."

He huffed out a breathy chuckle and let her go completely. Felicity turned around and headed for the doors, but in the last second her steps faltered and she looked his way.

"Oliver?" she asked hesitantly. He turned his head looking at her questioningly. "I will go to the Gala with you because after what we have learnt tonight I understand that it's even more important to stop these people." His eyes sparkled with interest at that and she couldn't believe she was doing this. ''But I have some conditions." She locked gazes with him, showing him she was going to help him even if she didn’t like the idea. "You won't buy me a dress for this and I'll meet you here, at the Gala." She held her breath waiting for his answer.

Oliver grinned at her request and she thought that at least she'd made him forget about his mother for a while. He looked at her pretty seriously but his face was soft when he gave her his answer, "We have a deal, Felicity _if_ …" He turned around to face her completely. ''You'll let Diggle pick you up. I would feel better knowing that you got here safe.''

After a moment of considering it she nodded and she couldn't help but grin herself. Her hand touched the doorknob and she was about to turn it, but his voice stopped her.

"I forgot to tell you…" She turned her attention back to him. "Nice jammies.” His voice was playful.

She left his office with a big smile on her face and she didn't care that John looked at her like she’d grown a second head.

 

Tonight, Felicity was one hundred percent sure that _Oliver_ was flirting with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So how was this part? Let me know! Please, comment, add to bookmarks or leave kudos! :)  
> P.S. Here's my twitter if you would like to talk to me or know something about update progress: @angelica_fit  
> Or follow me on tumblr : http://seetheskyaboveus.tumblr.com


	3. Part Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don’t own Arrow; however the idea for this story is mine.  
> Soundtrack: http://8tracks.com/seetheskyaboveus/oblivion-is-calling-out-your-name-soundtrack  
> A/N: Hi everyone!  
> Thank you so much for your feedback! Seriously, it blows my mind to see that you like this story so much. I would never think that Oblivion would have so much success.  
> Important: I’m giving you Part Three with a big warning ahead. Things happen kind of fast in this part and it might feel sudden, but that was my plan since the beginning. When I thought about this story, this part was actually the first thing that created inside my head. And then I thought how to explain that, how to show what led to some parts and what kind of impact it had on Felicity. That will be developed in Part Four I'm working on right now and I have to tell you, it's the hardest Part for me. It's big for me and I don't know if it will turn out the way I want to. I kind of feel a lot of pressure haha :D  
> I hope that despite rushing the storyline, it won’t feel unnatural and that you’ll be able to tell why that happened. (And of course you’ll enjoy it :D)  
> As always, a lot of love to my great betas: The Alternative Source and SweetMe86. You make this story better!  
> Okay, I’m finishing my ramble now so you can read the story. :D (It’s the longest so far so I hope you’ll be happy about that.)  
> Enjoy!

**_Part Three_ **

When Felicity was just a girl she liked to think that when she grew up she would buy every beautiful dress she could find in a boutique. She liked to play dress up with her mom and pretend she was a princess. But then her father left and her mother had to work harder to get her brilliant daughter everything she needed. There was no time for playing around or enough money to buy new dresses. What little they had was spent on food, renting their apartment or resources Felicity needed to get to one of the best colleges in the country.

Felicity had to grow up fast.

College came and went with the Goth phase Felicity lived through and the childhood dreams disappeared between dark clothes and hacking every database she could think of. Adulthood came faster than she expected and things changed in Felicity's life, priorities straightened. Working for the IT Department let her come back to the style she was fond of. It wasn't exactly what she would dream of when she was little, but she could look elegant and professional, and even a little bit sexy.

 

Then Oliver Queen invited her to the Queen Family Annual Christmas Gala and she felt like a smaller version of herself looking for the perfect dress within her wardrobe.

Thinking about that made Felicity shake her head at her ridiculous behavior. A day before she would rather move out of Starling City than have to go to that stupid Gala. And today? She couldn't leave her bedroom because the gown she was looking for wasn't in its usual place.

 

Oliver Queen knew what he was doing. It took him just a couple of nice words, a touch here and there, eyes boring into hers, and she was agreeing with him, leaving her worries behind. They didn't disappear completely - she still was afraid how people would react to her. But he had a way to ease her troubled thoughts. She was afraid what that meant, that he already had so much power over her emotions.

After he confirmed that he knew what he was doing and that he would keep her safe, she felt calmer than at the beginning of this issue with the Triad that brought them together. Maybe it was stupid to trust the experience and knowledge the Bratva Captain had to have in this line of work, but what she saw in his eyes; the complete certainty that he had control over everything that would happen at the Gala, let her believe in him. And that was saying something because Felicity didn't believe in people easily.

But more than that it made her realize that the aching in her chest and the warmth she felt whenever she looked at him was getting dangerously close to the point where she would have to admit she had a crush on him. Or maybe it had already crossed that line and she wanted to pretend that the issue of her having feelings for him didn't exist.

She knew him for only _two_ days. She wasn't stupid as too fall for him in that short period of time. It had to be his good looks that made her feel those things. It was probably just lust she felt. She could admit that she would have to be blind to not see how handsome he was. How his presence made her aware of that she was a woman with needs and she could feel the lust he brought out of her. But it was more than that. His attractiveness was shadowed by the emotional connection she felt to him. And it was strange because she had no idea what he was hiding inside his mind, what made him tick. Yet, the things he had survived and how much it had changed him, how much he was different from the boy she knew from tabloids, pulled her to him. She wanted to know more about him and maybe that would help her understand the feelings that had grown in such a short time.

 

Speaking of that, she probably should mention the other man who couldn't get out of her head.

The Vigilante.

 

She had a dream about him last night. A very _graphic_ and _detailed_ dream. She had to open her window and let a breeze of cool air in to calm her beating heart and wait for the wave of need she hadn't satisfied properly in a long time to pass. Her neighbor’s cat took her mind of things when he tried to sneak inside her bedroom. She couldn't fall asleep for the rest of the night. Felicity was glad that Christmas started in the morning and she didn't have to go to work. But she wasn't that pleased when the moment she lay back on her bed her thoughts drifted back to the Vigilante.

He was a completely different mystery than Oliver was to her. A mystery she wanted to put her hands on and see for herself if he was that dangerous and captivating behind the hood as well. She didn't know what he looked like and she didn't care, because the power that oozed from his well-built body spoke volumes. And that wasn't good for her because feeling attraction for two men at the same time was stupid and it terrified her. It made her feel like someone else, someone she didn't want to be.

On the other hand it was making things easier if she had to decide between them. Because what she felt for the Vigilante was different than what she felt for Oliver. Her attraction for the Vigilante was strictly physical. He was this mysterious man hiding behind a hood that she could have taken straight from her fantasies. And the fact that he was real made it even harder for her to resist. She didn't know what she was doing anymore when he affected her like that. He played with her senses making her do thing she normally wouldn't do. He made her bold, like she could take what she wanted from him without fearing about the consequences.

 

Felicity shut her eyes tightly, trying to get these thoughts out of her head. She needed to get her mind out of the gutter if she wanted to get ready on time.

 

John had called her when she was doing her hair, telling her he would pick her up at seven and now she had only a little less than an hour to find her gown and finish dressing up. She could swear she had kept it on a hanger in the back of the closet. It was a forest green number her mother bought for her prom, but Felicity didn't have a chance to attend. Ever since, it had been hanging in the closet waiting for someone to wear it for the first time.

Fumbling between her clothes she should have folded a long time ago, her hand caught between her red mini dress's opened zipper. She pulled it to the side to free her hand from it and then she saw the satin fabric she was looking for lying at the bottom of the closet. She reached for the hanger that hadn't separated from the gown when it had fallen and she took the dress out.

She'd forgotten how beautiful it was. Sleeveless with a heart shaped bodice decorated with small golden and green stones. Tight in the waist and falling loosely from her hips to the floor. The material on the back was lower than usual but the dress wasn't completely backless. She was sure that with her hair pinned up in a loose bun at the nape of her neck, her back would be nicely exposed. That gown would definitely make her look beautiful and sexy. At least she would go to the Gala with confidence, knowing that she would look good enough to be seen with someone like Oliver Queen.

She took the dress with her and headed to the bathroom, hanging it on the doorframe. She took her time finishing her makeup because she wanted it to look perfect.

Felicity went for a soft but flirty look, not using a lot of products, trying to look natural. She used warm earth tones and golden eye shadow, and eyeliner to make her blue eyes pop. Then she applied a deep red lipstick that would contrast nicely with the dress and match with her nails. She finished with a light touch of blush on her cheekbones and she was satisfied with the way she looked.

Felicity secured the pins that held her hair in a bun. She had curled them, and now in the hairstyle she put them into, they made her look elegant and feminine. She left a stray lock of curled hair falling loosely on the side of her face.

Earlier that day she had switched her glasses for contacts and all she had to do now was get dressed and pick the shoes. She had two options: four inch red pumps or golden stilettos. Right now she couldn't decide so she left that for later, hoping that John would help her pick.

She shrugged off her bathrobe leaving her in her black lacy underwear set as she picked the gown from the hanger. She put it on and when the fabric slipped off her leg leaving it bare she realized that the gown had something she didn't realize before.

On the left side there was a slit that ended dangerously high on her thigh. With every move her leg would be visible and she couldn't wear stockings like she'd planned. She didn't have time to think about something else so she just pulled the dress around her breasts trying to zip it. When she saw in the mirror how low the back of the gown really was she sighed, resigned. It looked like she would have to ditch not only the stockings but her bra too. Slipping out of it she resumed her task of zipping the dress.

 

Then the lights went off.

 

Felicity stilled her movements, frowning. The only thing she could see was the faint light from the street lamp outside her bedroom window that illuminated the room. Did the generator fail? Or maybe there was a problem at the Power Station?

Holding onto the dress so it wouldn't fall from her breasts, she left the bathroom, trying to figure out what happened. The light switch was still turned on and when she flipped it a couple of times it didn't work. She wanted to check another room, but when she turned facing the mirror, a figure standing by the window reflected in it.

Felicity screamed turning around and almost let the gown slip to the floor. She caught it in the last second, saving herself from flashing... _the Vigilante_?!

"God! You scared the crap out of me!" Felicity said, her voice high pitched. "You can't just sneak up on people like that! You almost gave me a heart attack!" she yelled at him but he didn't move or say anything to stop her from babbling, and she was too high on the adrenaline to do it herself. "What are you even doing here?'' She briefly thought that he must have learned about her switching the drives, but seeing that he didn't jump straight for her throat let her abandon that idea. ''You know, once I can overlook, but twice makes me feel that I should be worried. I'm not on your list so the only excuse I can find for you to be here right now is that you're stalking me. Are you stalking me? Because I have to tell you that I had my fair share of stalking in college and I don't need a repeat from that. Did you mess with my lights? I don't like it. You should seriously consider another way to announce yourself, because coming out of the shadows? Not the best way to greet a girl. And _why_ am I still talking? Maybe you should say something so I can shut my mouth finally..." Her voice trailed off when he let out a sound she could only describe as a growl.

Felicity's eyes focused on him properly for the first time since she found him in her bedroom. He stood stiffly like he was holding onto the rest of his control, but why? His head was bowed and he wasn't looking at her. The bow wasn't in his hands leaving them free, but they weren't relaxed. He fisted his hands tightly like he was keeping them from reaching for something. He took a step closer to her, but then stopped himself and didn't move even an inch.

Felicity was enlightened so fast that her breath escaped from her mouth hitching at the end. "How long have you been standing there?" she asked, fearing for his answer.

When she was alone at home she didn't bother to close the bathroom door in her bedroom. No one could see her after all. But tonight she was in the bathroom in her undergarments and then she took off her bra. And now she was standing in front of the Vigilante with her gown still unzipped.

The Vigilante lifted his head and even if she couldn't see his eyes, she felt it as they zeroed in on her when he answered, "Long enough." His voice was deep and strained showing her that he was affected by what he'd seen.

His gaze felt like a laser on her, traveling across every curve and dip of her body. His jaw tightened and that's all she could see in the faint light from the street lamp, but thinking about what could be happening with his face under the hood and what he could have been thinking right in that moment was enough to set her body on fire.

The Vigilante saw her in her _underwear_ and maybe even without her bra. Oh God, he saw her almost _naked_! And if she didn't hold onto the dress so tightly he could get an eyeful of her breasts. Her eyes went wide like saucers.

Felicity quickly reached behind her to zip the gown, but her hand shook so hard she couldn't grab it between her fingers. A hand lightly touching her elbow forced her to stop and she jumped when she saw the Vigilante standing right in front of her.

"Let me."

It was two words, but he said them so low and determined that she let him turn her around to face the mirror.

Felicity breathed out slowly trying to calm herself. He was just zipping a dress for her, that's it. Even if the heat of his body crawled up her back to settle on her neck and made her shiver, she needed to stay calm and not think about the dream she had the previous night.

She felt his gloved fingers easing the gown from her tight grasp. Her hands hung limply by her sides, feeling paralyzed without anything to hold onto. He slowly moved the zipper up, the silence between them interrupted by the sound of it moving. When he finished his task a little higher than her lower back, his breath escaped from between his lips and fanned across her sensitive skin, making it warm and tingly.

After what felt like forever she felt his fingers on her bare skin, his touch light as a feather. Felicity tensed fearing of where this was going. The gloves on his hands felt cool and smooth and she closed her eyes at the feeling of it trailing up her back. His thumb moved from side to side like he wanted to touch every bit of skin he could find under his touch. Felicity felt that she had to say something to stop this, whatever was happening between them. Why was he touching her like that? Why did she let him?

"Just so you know..." her voice trailed off when his fingers finally crawled up to settle on the spot where her neck met with her shoulders. "I'm not wearing this dress to impress you or something. Just in case you made some assumptions because of its color." He didn't answer her, just stepped closer and now his front was pressed tightly to her back. "I've had it since my prom night and I didn't even know you then..." She stopped at that, because it was too hard to think when he was touching her like that.

"You're wearing this dress to impress Oliver Queen," he said close to her ear and she had to open her eyes to see what he was doing. Her eyes met his in the mirror and he looked so dangerous in that moment that her legs almost gave away under her. "But he's not here," he growled and then his lips landed on the spot just beneath her ear.

Her head fell back on his chest without her permission and his lips slowly brushed down her neck. Goosebumps appeared in places his stubble scraped across her skin and she couldn't take her eyes off him.

That was what she had talked about earlier. He was doing it again. She could barely think when he touched her like her fantasy was being brought to life. But she felt powerful too, knowing that her state of undress brought the big bad Vigilante to his knees. That _he_ was the one to make the first move.

It was like someone turned off her brain functioning after that. When she felt his hot and wet tongue softly trailing across her skin she couldn't stop herself and moaned out loud. His eyes snapped to hers and his hands finally grabbed her shoulders properly.

There was a moment of pause when they breathed hard and loud, watching each other; waiting for who would break first. Then a groan escaped his lips and he turned her so fast she would have tripped if he wasn't holding onto her. His lips slanted over hers before she realized what he was doing.

When his tongue licked across her lips, coating it open, she mewled tightening her hands behind his neck. She had no idea when she put them under his hood, but it seemed like her hands didn't mind because they pulled on his hair bringing him closer. He responded by crushing her to his chest and sliding his tongue across hers. His hands wandered across her back, grabbing her neck then moving down to press on her waist and ass.

The kiss was hard, full of passion and aggressive. It was addictive, just like him. It was something new to her, something she'd never experienced before. Something she wanted to experience all the time. It felt like he wanted to devour her, like he couldn’t stop himself from taking more with every swipe of his tongue. He tasted like the best red wine she ever had. Warm, spicy and with a hint of something she couldn't place. If she wondered how danger tasted like, now she had her answer.

They were responding to the urges they felt the moment their paths crossed. The desire that came out of nowhere and trapped Felicity’s mind in the need to respond to him. Not emotionally, just physically - she remembered about that when he deepened the kiss even more. What she felt was an intimate curiosity her body needed to satisfy as a way to understand the mystery the Vigilante was.

She pulled at his neck harder when she couldn't stand on her toes anymore. Without her shoes on she was so tiny that he could crush her. It seemed that he got the message because in the next second he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up, aggressively sitting her on top of the dresser. Her back dug painfully into the mirror, but she didn't care. Something fell to the floor shattering and she didn't care either because he pushed her legs apart and stepped between them, pressing against her where she wanted to feel him the most.

The excitement pumped inside her veins telling her to do more, to fall deep into the man that was holding her. Her desire for him grew stronger. She whimpered at the feeling of him pressed tightly against her core and she felt him growing harder. By the feeling of it she knew he had to be big and she bit on his bottom lip to stop herself for reaching out for him. He groaned again, but her satisfaction that she could make him respond like that was short, because she felt his gloved hand trailing up her thigh.

Somewhere between him lifting her up and her grinding against him, her gown had slipped from her leg leaving it bare for his wandering hands. Never in her life was she so thankful for a slip a dress. His fingers touched the inside of her thigh and she moaned breaking her lips away from his. She dug her nails hard in his ass and he retaliated by tracing his thumb across the edge of her lace panties.

 

Then the doorbell rang loudly.

 

Their frantic movement stopped, leaving them staring at each other and breathing hard from the steamy make out session they just had. The doorbell rang again and it broke through the haze Felicity had on her brain. Her eyes winded shocked at what she just did. What _they_ did.

"Oh my God!" she exhaled and then her hands pushed him away from her.

His hand fell away from her leg and he took a step back. She tried not to feel the tingling in places he had just had his hands on. The bell rang again and again, and she jumped from the dresser, standing on unsteady legs. She couldn't look at him. Why the heck had she let this happen? Let desire cloud her mind like that?

When the bell rang again she wanted to bolt out of the room, but his voice stopped her before she took a step. "Wear the red ones."

She furrowed her brows in confusion, but when she saw him looking at the place she had her shoes, she understood. She blushed the brightest shade of pink and grabbed the shoes before storming out of the room. She tried to convince herself that she took them because they were the comfiest, but she failed miserably at that.

* * *

"You're awfully quiet." John glanced at Felicity as they drove to the Queen Mansion. "Something happen?"

Felicity wanted to snort at that. And laugh bitterly. And maybe cry a little. But more importantly she wanted to tell him how stupid she was for letting _that_ happen. But she couldn't. John was her best friend and she told him everything, but this? He would be so disappointed in her. Definitely more than she was in herself.

She was so frustrated. What was she thinking? Oh, right. She wasn't. It was like the moment he put his hands on her, someone took over her body, shutting out any coherent thought she could think about. It happened spontaneous like it was the only way they could solve this sexual tension between them. And there was a lot of it; she felt that even after their display of passion. It was funny, they barely knew each other and yet the attraction was undeniable and bigger than with any other man she knew. She was afraid to think what would have happened next if John hadn’t interrupted them. She was sure of one thing. It was a mistake that couldn't happen again. She had satisfied her curiosity and now she needed to be smarter than letting her body decide for her. The Vigilante wasn't someone she wanted to get involved with.

Before she opened the door for John, the lights had come back on and she knew the Vigilante had to have left her place by then. She was glad about that because if she came back to the bedroom and he would still be there she didn't know what she would do about that.

John had been curious about her state of disarray because as she'd learned later, her carefully applied lipstick was smeared across her lips and the pins in her hair had come loose in the places where the Vigilante had grabbed at her neck. She'd mumbled an excuse that she knew John hadn't believe for a second, but being the good friend he was, he dropped the issue and told her to freshen up.

When she'd reapplied the lipstick she briefly wondered if some of it decorated the Vigilante's face as well. But then she'd remembered she wasn't supposed to be thinking about what had happened and she finished fixing her hair.

After she put on the golden necklace she'd forgot about earlier, she'd gathered the things that would be necessary for the job tonight and they left her townhouse heading to the Gala.

"Nah, I'm just thinking about tonight," Felicity told him not stopping to look outside the window. It wasn't a complete lie, she did think about how this Gala would end. She was worried a little that not everything would go as planned, but she decided that it wasn't an option to back out now.

"Don't worry; we're going to take care of everything. All you need to do is put your mojo into the game and we'll be set," John assured her and Felicity looked at him curiously.

"What _is_ the plan exactly? All I know is what Oliver told me and it wasn't anything more than he would take care of it." Felicity didn't like to jump head first into anything. She liked to have a plan and some backups if the first one failed. She trusted Oliver's judgment, but she couldn't help but feel uneasy about this whole thing.

John smirked a little and by the look on his face she could tell he knew something she didn't. "Well, first we're going to find the Triad's moles in the hired staff and that's where you come in because apparently Moira Queen hired twenty people. We couldn't find out who of them is connected to the Triad in that short period of time." He shook his head. "You could use some of your gadgets to identify them, maybe hack something on them. The rest is easy. Roy and a couple of my trusted men will take care of them."

"Why am I getting the impression that you're not telling me everything?" Felicity asked sensing that tone in his voice when he was trying to hide something from her, something Bratva related.

"Because I'm not," he said simply, not trying to hide it. Felicity sighed feeling that this conversation would get her nowhere. "Don't worry about that. Do your thing and then enjoy the rest of your evening."

If only it was that simple. An evening on the arm of Oliver Queen. This night was going to be so far from relaxing. Especially when she knew that there was something between them. Something she didn't want to think about when she still wasn't over that thing with the Vigilante.

Felicity sure as hell knew how to complicate her life. Playing with fire was never a thing she enjoyed, but the last two days showed her that it was a dangerous and addictive game. She rotated between these two men like a woman who couldn't decide, but the only problem was that she had no idea what her choices were.

Two days ago she had been sitting in her cubicle enjoying her peaceful life, and now? It felt like someone had put her in the middle of a hurricane and she didn't know which move was her best way out. She needed to take a step back and focus on the important things.

"You know." John's voice brought her back from her thoughts. "I talked to Oliver yesterday and he said something that got me thinking." Felicity's eyes dropped to her legs hoping that it didn't have anything to do with their talk in the office. "He said that you're an interesting woman. That you intrigued him," he said slowly, deliberately picking his words like he was trying to test her reactions. "Is there something going on between you two?"

Her eyes snapped to his, but he was looking at the road, his face not showing her what he was thinking. "What do you mean? I barely know him." Her voice was weak when she answered him and his lips twitched like it was the response he was waiting for.

"If Oliver Queen says that something intrigues him it basically means that he's going to chase after it until he learns everything he can about it, until it's his. And in this case we're talking about you so I was wondering if you know what you're getting yourself into." He paused and Felicity let his words reach deep inside her mind, hoping that maybe she could find a solution to her problems. "I'm worried about you, Felicity, and I don't think that getting involved with Oliver is what you need right now."

 _You and me both_ , Felicity thought bitterly.

She was so deep into the rabbit hole that even a rope wouldn't help her crawl out of it. Why did men have to be so complicated?

"Don't worry, John. I know what I'm doing."

If only she believed that too.

* * *

The Queen's outdid themselves with the Gala.

The Mansion looked like a Christmas commercial with more lights on the trees and columns than on Times Square. It would be tasteless if she saw it somewhere else, the impression of thousands of dollars thrown into Christmas decorations. But she had to admit that Moira Queen knew how to pull off that look well. It would be better if she just gave that money to the charity though. But the rich had their rules and she couldn't do anything about that.

When they'd arrived, the Gala had already started and the Queen Property was almost full of expensive cars. John parked in front of the doors telling Felicity to go inside and that Oliver would be waiting for her there. She protested, insisting that he should go with her, she was already freaking out enough as it was, she didn't need another reason to bolt before she even got to the doors. But John drove away before she got a chance to jump back into the car, leaving her standing in front of the doors where the Starling City elite was sending her curious looks as they went past her to get inside.

Remembering her mantra that she wouldn't let them intimidate her, she lifted her chin high and headed for the doors.

"Ms. Smoak, welcome," one of the guards said, startling her and then he opened the doors for her.

Felicity looked at him curiously, but when she recognized him as the one from the previous night her face flushed lightly. "Thank you."

She sent him a grateful smile and then she stepped inside. She wondered how he knew her name, but then the thought that his boss had to be behind that occurred to her. It was nice of him to do something like that.

Felicity was in the Mansion's foyer where she saw a few guests waiting in line for something. She frowned, not knowing what was happening, but when they moved to take off their coats she saw Moira Queen standing in the middle of the foyer and it looked like she was there as a welcoming committee. She was wearing a long burgundy dress that made her look even more lean and elegant than she already was. Her hair was down and straight, and that hairstyle looked good on her.

Before Felicity had a chance to hide or just simply move, Mrs. Queen's piercing gaze landed on her. She plastered on a polite smile and Felicity couldn't help but think that it couldn't be more fake. She didn't have a choice then, so she just closed the remaining distance between them.

"Hello, dear, I don't think we know each other." Mrs. Queen's voice was calm and polite but the tone of it let her know that she wanted to know who the heck Felicity was.

"No, but it's nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Queen. And by _finally_ I mean that I work in the IT Department and I see you a lot at the company." Felicity smiled nervously.

Moira looked at her expectantly and by the look on her face, she knew Mrs. Queen didn't appreciate her babbling. Moira's eyes assessed her like she was judging her looks and Felicity didn't like that. "You know my name, but I still don't know yours," she said after a moment.

"Right! I'm sorry, Mrs. Queen. I'm Felicity Smoak." She almost face palmed herself. How could she forget to introduce herself?

Mrs. Queen's eyes flashed with recognition and the smile she had on her face looked more honest then. "So you are the famous Ms. Smoak I've heard so much about." Felicity looked at her surprised. "Walter likes to brag about how smart you are and how without you the company wouldn't be in the place it is now," Mrs. Queen explained.

Felicity felt better at that. Mr. Steele was so nice to her and it felt good to hear that he was proud of her work. "I'm sure that Mr. Steele is exaggerating, I'm just doing my job."

"Oh, don't be shy about that, my dear. We appreciate your work." She grabbed Felicity's elbow then and pulled her slightly to the side. "Now come, Antonio will take your coat." She showed her in front of a tall, black man who had to be a member of the staff and gestured for him to help her out of the coat. "We don't want Oliver to wait for you for too long," Felicity's eyes snapped to hers and Mrs. Queen laughed slightly at her face. "Oliver told me to expect a young lady as his date and by the way he acted I'm sure he's anxious to see you. Go, my dear, before he comes for you first."

It was just a joke from Mrs. Queen's mouth, but in these circumstances it felt like a threat somehow. Maybe it was just a reaction to things John said to her in the car. She hoped it was. Otherwise her nerves wouldn't take the tension that was about to come.

When Felicity was left without her coat she felt bare and unsure of what to do next, but she decided it was time to face the devil even if she didn't feel ready for that.

"Thank you, Mrs. Queen. You have a lovely home."

Moira nodded at her and then turned around to greet other faces.

Felicity stepped aside and looked around not sure of where to go. Her eyes followed the corridor to the left away from Oliver's office and she heard the faint sounds of music. She headed that way, hoping it was the right direction.

Moira Queen appeared to be a nice woman. But despite that it felt like she had a tendency to judge people even when she didn't know them. Felicity could bet that if Mr. Steele hadn't talked about her, Mrs. Queen would have welcomed her differently. Especially when she would learn that she was her son's date. That could be an awkward encounter.

It was wrong that she could stand there and welcome her guests like everything was alright and pretend that she didn't let Triad members in, who wanted to destroy her son's life. When all of this was over what would the Bratva do to her? Felicity was afraid to think about all the ways they could punish her. She might be a monster by betraying her own family, but she was also a woman who was threatened by Malcolm Merlyn and the Triad.

All of this was wrong. The way the mob organizations led their lives was cruel and unfair. Everything was bad if it wasn't a benefit for them.

 

Felicity found herself in the open space of the ballroom where the Gala was hosted. It was spacious and beautiful, and the guests danced or stood to the side catching up on the latest gossips. In the back stood a giant Christmas tree full of ornaments and colorful lights that winked at her when she looked at them.

She looked around for Oliver or a familiar face and her eyes landed on a bar, on the left side of the ballroom. Oliver stood with his side to the bar, not seeing her and he was talking to Roy who was occupied with handing a drink to Thea Queen. She was laughing at something and she looked beautiful in her dark blue gown.

Roy was charming in his black tuxedo, but what had Felicity gaping was how good Oliver looked tonight. He always looked handsome, but somehow this black suit emphasized all of his best assets. His arms looked larger and his legs longer and stronger. She didn't even see him from the front, but she was afraid that it would destroy all her resolve around him.

John joined them and ordered something, then turned to Oliver who was talking to him. There was a band softly playing Christmas songs and the voice of a woman singing was enchanting, pulling at the worries she thought she'd left at home.

Felicity felt a wave of sadness washing over her. They were so calm and relaxed just enjoying the Gala with normal people, like they didn't lead a double life. But when all of this was over the Bratva was a priority and every other distraction would go away forgotten.

 _Like you_ , small voice reminded her.

She didn't think she could lead that kind of life. And the things she felt when being with Oliver made it worse somehow. Eventually he would have to go back to being the Bratva Captain everyone respected and she would come back to her life as an IT girl he once knew. It was better to ignore the pull between them before he realized that it was there, even if John said that he already found her interesting.

She would help him out tonight and see how the rest of the night would go, but then she had to take a step back from all this and decide what she wanted. Because right now she was so confused that she was afraid she would do something stupid again.

 

And then Oliver turned his head to the side and noticed her standing alone in the ballroom.

 

It was cliché how it felt that the world around them stopped, but the moment she felt his eyes on her, she forgot how to breathe and her body went up in flames. Everything she'd thought about already forgotten.

Oliver assessed her with a look she couldn't place, but it reached deep to her bones. His gaze caressed her skin with wonder like he couldn't believe what he was seeing. If she didn't know better she would say that he looked at her like he wanted to eat her.

Distantly, she remembered the words the Vigilante said to her.

 _You're wearing this dress to impress Oliver Queen_.

And maybe a part of her did.

All of a sudden Felicity felt shy, his gaze too much for her senses and it messed with her head, making her feel butterflies. And this was just him looking at her. What would happen if there was more?

Then he turned to face her and she could drop dead right there.

He wore suspenders under his suit jacket and she knew that, because the jacket was unbuttoned and it moved to the side when he turned. They hugged his chest accenting the muscles under his white shirt and _wow_ , she was speechless. Seriously, they should ban suspenders; they were too dangerous to be shown on a body like Oliver Queen's. But then she wouldn't get to see the sight she was sure she would remember for the rest of her life.

 _If looks could kill_ , Felicity thought, sighing dreamily. She couldn't believe she was his date tonight. Something told her that she would be dead before the night would end. But what a way to go.

 

Oliver smiled at her baring his pearly white teeth and she wanted to stay there forever, and stare at his beautiful smile. But she had to do something, like go to him before he realized she was staring like a creep. She dipped her head and when the stray lock of hair fell over her eyes she pushed it aside with her fingers and gave Oliver a shy smile. Then he started to make his way to her not bothering to listen to Roy who was still talking to him.

When he approached, he stepped close into her personal space, filling all of her senses with him. He was still smiling like he couldn't stop and it made her so happy that she couldn't help but grin at him herself.

"Hi," she said a little breathlessly, but she didn't mind when his eyes sparkled at her like that.

"Hey." His voice was low and it sounded so good that she almost closed her eyes. "You look stunning."

She blushed, lowering her eyes. "Thank you." She saw his lips twitch again, but before she could say something more, Roy's voice interrupted them, bringing them back to earth.

"Wow, Blondie. You clean up nice," he said cheeky, but then yelped when Thea Queen hit him in the chest.

"What Roy tried to say is that you look wonderful and if he wasn't taken already he would take you for a spin, right baby?" She leaned against him and he circled her waist with his arm, mumbling something under his breath. "Hi, I'm Thea Queen." She extended her hand in greeting.

"Felicity Smoak," she said, accepting Thea's hand and smiled.

"It's nice to finally meet you in person, because Ollie here was talking about you so much since we've got here that for a moment I thought he made you up." She smiled sweetly at her.

"Thea." Oliver glared at his sister and they stared at each other fighting some kind of battle Felicity didn't want to be a part of.

"Thank you, I guess," Felicity finally said and Thea sent her another smile, but this one looked mischievous.

"I can already tell that we're going to be best friends someday, but now..." Thea grabbed Roy's hand and pushed him to the side slightly. "I'm going to find Tommy and say "hi". I'll catch you later, have fun, and Oliver?" She turned to her brother. "Try not to kill your date with your broodiness." She patted his chest twice and then pulled Roy away and left them staring at her retreating form.

Felicity blinked slowly. What just happened?

"I'm sorry about Thea, she just doesn't know when to stop talking." Oliver gritted his teeth in irritation at his sister's behavior.

"I'm familiar with that problem." Felicity's head bobbed up and down, remembering all the times she put her foot in her mouth.

Oliver's eyes turned to her and his face relaxed again. "Your babbling is endearing and refreshing. Not everyone has the courage to say what's on his mind."

Felicity stared up at him, warmth settling in her stomach. Did Oliver Queen call her endearing? In what kind of alternate universe did she end up?

Felicity focused on what she was doing here instead of how good it felt to hear something like that from him so she wouldn't melt into a puddle because of his charming talking.

"John told me about your plan so where do you want me?" Oliver blinked at her word choice and she corrected herself quickly, "I mean what do you want me to do first?" That was it. Her lack of ability to communicate without innuendos hidden behind her sentences ceased to amaze her.

Oliver's face fell a little like he was expecting a different response from her that maybe would let them continue flirting, but she wanted to take care of this situation before she let him distract her even more.

"Straight to business I see." His voice took on a strange tone, she couldn't place. "You've already done the most part, finding the people responsible for the hacking and then yesterday with the flash drive. All I need you to do is help me identify the Triad members in our staff and your job here is done."

Somehow Felicity thought it wouldn't be that easy, she had a nagging feeling that something would go wrong. But she didn't tell him that.

"Do you maybe have a lead or something to help me get started with this?"

He put his hand on the small of her back and she was glad that he didn't touch her bare skin. He turned her then so they were facing John, whose eyes danced around the ballroom searching for anything suspicious.

"My mother hired twenty people to help with the Gala. Seven of them are here, the bartender, two by the entrance to the ballroom and four mingling between guests. The rest are scattered across the Mansion." His thumb rubbed back and forth across her back and they looked like they were just enjoying each other's company to whoever would look at them. Felicity tried not to shiver, focusing on what he was saying. "Roy did a background check on them, but he found nothing suspicious and then he had to distract Thea so she wouldn't suspect anything. We're hoping you can hack their phones to find something to push us in the right direction."

"I can do that, but I'm afraid it won't be enough and we can't let them outthink us." She glanced at him.

"That's why I have my people watching their every move. They won't be able to do anything behind our backs." He turned his head and locked gazes with her showing her that he really believed in that.

His move brought their faces dangerously close to each other and without her permission her eyes dropped to his lips. They looked so delicious surrounded by his neatly kept stubble. She had the urge to kiss them and find out if they would feel rough and hard on hers or maybe soft, but firm. She wanted to learn his taste and see if it would get her addicted to him like the rest of him did.

She gazed back up and found his eyes staring at her lips as well. Unintentionally the tip of her tongue peeked between her lips to lick the dryness from them and his eyes followed the movement. The hand he had on her lower back flexed against the fabric of her gown and she wished he just grabbed her and pulled her flush with his body.

His eyes connected with hers again and his pupils were blown wide. Felicity recognized the desire swimming in them and that made her snap back to reality.

They were standing in the middle of the ballroom, and a moment longer and she would have kissed him. Not so long after she let the Vigilante do that. She needed to move away from him because his presence trapped her in a limbo and with every second it was harder to find her way out.

"I... I better get started on this." She cleared her throat, not looking at him.

She moved away and his palm slipped from her back leaving her cold. She walked away from him, the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up and she knew that he was staring at her the entire time.

When she caught John observing her, she tried to ignore the knowing look he had on his face.

* * *

It was an hour later and Felicity still had nothing. She tried to do the background check herself because let's be honest, she didn't trust Roy to do his best with it, but she didn't find anything either and that was concerning.

While Moira Queen gave a speech about supporting the Glades and helping the poor living in that dangerous area, Felicity hacked personal phones of the staff. It wasn't easy to do when the Mansion was literally filled with dozens of phones, but after narrowing the signal with a GPS tracker to the places Oliver told her the staff was stationed at, she had a good place to start.

But it was a dead end.

Zero suspicious files and calls. Not even one encrypted message. Felicity was starting to feel irritated and useless. Something that couldn't end well.

 

She put her tablet aside and narrowing her eyes she watched as the staff served the guests. They all acted normal; no one even glanced angrily at anyone. They were perfectly professional. Almost too professional. She was alarmed by that, a weird feeling settling low in her belly made her squirm and look more carefully around the ballroom.

Something caught her attention when her eyes passed by the bar. The bartender turned his back to the guests and scratched his ear in a manner that was supposed to be discreet and then mumbled under his breath.

Felicity straightened her back. If she hadn't been looking at him she would have missed that move. It could be nothing, but she had to check anyway. She grabbed her tablet and checked the line of communication the Bratva members used.

The line was secure and it looked like only the security crew had access to it, but there was something that felt wrong to Felicity. There was a small, almost unnoticeable stream that followed the original line of communication and when she tried to open it to show her the location it was responding to it disconnected her from the program.

Felicity frowned, not understanding how that happened. She looked at the bartender quickly, but he was fixing a drink and acted completely normal again. Maybe she was exaggerating. She was so focused on finding the Triad members that it must have made her see things that weren't there. But it wouldn't hurt to check that out again.

She opened the line of communication, but this time she didn't open the stream directly. She launched her hacking program and plugged the stream to it so it could hack the location it responded to. It would take a moment and she gritted her teeth from the anticipation.

 

Her eyes followed the progress so focused on its task that she almost dropped her tablet when a voice sounded close to her, startling her.

 

"Wow, this party really sucks." The voice was male and she could easily hear sarcasm dripping from it. "I wish I had a tablet for entertainment. Any chance you can share with me?"

Felicity turned around with a scared face because it couldn't look good - her not leaving the sight of her tablet for the last hour at a Gala where the Starling City elite was present and could easily see what she was doing. She was about to apologize and drop some kind of excuse, when she saw who was talking to her.

Tommy Merlyn was leaning casually against the wall she was standing by. He wore a dark gray suit that contrasted perfectly with his raven black hair and the mischievous grin that decorated his face. It slipped from his lips when he saw how wide her eyes got and he threw his hands in front of himself like he was trying to tame a wild animal.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I startled you," he said quickly. "It wasn't my intention. I was just trying to make a friendly conversation. I swear your secret is safe with me." He gestured to her tablet that she was gripping hard, like he really believed that he was the only one who noticed her detaching herself from everyone around.

"It's okay, I shouldn't use this here, but it's work related," she said the only thing that came to her mind after she calmed herself down.

Tommy moved from the wall with an easy smile and stopped in front of her. "You don't have to explain yourself to me." He extended his hand. "Tommy Merlyn. Ollie's best friend. I saw you two earlier being all... cute with each other, I decided to come and say "hi" since he neglected to introduce us."

"Felicity Smoak." She accepted his hand, trying not to blush thinking about what he could have seen.

"Beautiful name for a beautiful lady." He smiled charmingly at her and it looked genuine so she relaxed her stiff pose. "Tell me, did Ollie leave you here all by yourself? Because if he did, I won't have any other choice but to kick his ass and then accompany you myself." She knew he was just joking, but his voice had this tone that told her that he could be completely serious too.

If it was anyone else she would have called him creepy and then evacuated herself as far away as possible from him. But it was Tommy Merlyn who looked truly concerned about her being ditched by his best friend and it made her realize that he was a better man than the tabloids made him out to be. He cared about people even if he didn't know them and he wasn't afraid to show that.

Felicity felt a wave of compassion crashing through her body. His father was a bad man who plotted against his best friend and he had no idea about that. What made it better was that at least Tommy wouldn't be like his father, because Malcolm Merlyn wasn't a kind man and that didn't have to be proven. Everyone knew that.

Tommy deserved so much better than him.

She was about to answer when she felt a familiar hand sliding across her back to settle on her waist. "No need for that, Tommy. I had to take care of something, but I'm here now." Oliver said smiling at him, but she knew it wasn't honest. She didn't understand why he felt like he had to pretend in front of his best friend too.

If Tommy noticed that, he didn't show it. His face was relaxed and amused when he said next, "There's nothing more important than your date, buddy, especially if someone could whisk her away from you and propose a better offer."

Oliver's arm tensed around her and Felicity was afraid that he took that as a threat. "I won't let that happen." His hand squeezed her hip lightly and he looked down at her. "But just to be sure that Felicity won't find someone better I'll just have to try harder."

The way he said it held an implication Felicity was scared to understand. His voice was possessive, just like his eyes and it pulled at something inside her. She had to look away so she wouldn't fall for his hypnotizing gaze. She had successfully avoided him for the last hour and it helped her calm the thoughts that shouldn't gather inside her head. But now, with only one look from him she was standing close to the edge again.

Tommy cleared his throat and Felicity blushed trying not to look at him. "Wow, buddy, where did you find her? She's got you wrapped around her finger."

Felicity peered up at him, curious about what he meant. He was watching them with a glint in his eyes like he just discovered a new flavor of whiskey. He was excited, but Felicity didn't know why. Did he know something that she didn't?

"Trust me, Tommy; you wouldn't be able to handle a woman like Felicity."

Felicity tensed. Was that an insult? She tried to step away from him, but the arm he had around her was holding her like an iron bar. Tommy laughed then and she couldn't help but think it was some kind of an inside joke she wasn't a part of. She was confused.

"You're probably right. I'll have to enjoy my days as a bachelor, but not for long. I won't let this handsome face go to waste." He grinned at Felicity, taking her hand in his. "It was a pleasure to meet you, my lady." He planted a kiss on her knuckles. "But I have to get going, before other ladies will feel neglected by me. Oliver." He nodded at his friend and they shared a long look like they were having a conversation without words. Tommy winked at her then and left.

There was a silence between them that Felicity used as an opportunity to get her head around what happened. Oliver acted like she belonged to him and if in some ways it felt good to be protected by him in others, it bothered her. He couldn't act like that because it blurred the lines Felicity drew between acting professional in public and showing things that should be hidden deep inside them. Things that shouldn't be there at all.

"Tommy's a charmer," Felicity said not looking at the man who still didn't let go of her waist. Oliver didn't respond and Felicity let her frustration speak for her when he reminded silent. "Why did you let him believe that we're on a date?"

Oliver turned his head to send her a puzzled look. "Because we are on a date, Felicity." His disoriented eyes showed her that he really believed that and Felicity had to fix that, before he got other ideas.

"No, we're not. This is a work date not a _date_ date. Which reminds me that we should get back to more important things."

Oliver flinched visibly and Felicity used that to step away from him. Her words were harsh and she didn't like how it felt that they hit him straight to his heart, but she had to protect her own. He should know better. He just met her and she wouldn't believe that he wanted something more from her than her help.

Okay, they had this sexual tension going on and a connection on an emotional level she didn't quite understand, but she couldn't be so stupid too let it cloud her judgement. He might have felt this thing too, but he was the Bratva Captain. He should be the responsible one, always calm and clear headed. She knew he was a good man and that's why he shouldn't lead her on.

Her tablet pinged then announcing that the program finished hacking. Felicity turned her attention to it, to check the results.

"I knew it!" she said more to herself than to Oliver. He leaned over her to see what she had, but he wouldn't understand her program even if he tried. "Earlier, I noticed that the bartender was talking to someone through the comm link and if he tried to hide that he really sucked at it," she explained, when the GPS stream showed a red dot a couple of feet from her, exactly in the place where the bar was. "I don't think you gave the staff earpieces that can connect through your security lines." Oliver looked at her tablet with an angry expression and she knew then, that she had his attention. "So either he's doing something on the side or he's from the Triad and that's his way to contact with his associates."

"I think it's the latter." She jumped hearing John's voice from behind her. She twirled around ready to scold him for scaring her, but John's _why am I even doing this job_ face stopped her. "I was doing errands in the back and caught one of the staff lurking around your office. He was speaking Chinese through the comm. I took care of the problem, but we still don't know how many of them are here." He looked from Oliver to her.

"Do you have his earpiece? I need his earpiece right now. I can connect to it and see where they are," Felicity asked in her hacking mode that no one should interrupt.

John took the earpiece from his pocket and handed it to her. She hacked it through Wi-Fi in a matter of seconds and besides the bartender and the earpiece she had in hand three more dots popped up on her tablet. She showed the results to Oliver and John and they silently watched them moving around the Mansion.

"Put this in," she ordered to Oliver and gestured to the earpiece. Something told her that he would understand Chinese better than her or John.

He cocked an eyebrow at her commanding tone, but did as she said. When he had it secured she opened a program and hacked the communication so that he could hear the Triad if they were talking. He was silent for a while, focusing on his task and when she wanted to ask if he had something he shushed her and turned around from her, listening harder. John shrugged at that and Felicity sighed loudly. This job was starting to get on her nerves.

After five more minutes Oliver took the earpiece out and handed it back to John. "China White is going to be here," he announced like it wasn't something he should be worried about.

"That's bad, right?" Felicity asked. "Who is she anyway?"

"She's a new player in town," John explained. "Triad’s main assassin. She's responsible for bombing Hong Kong two years ago. She's bad news."

Oliver smirked at that and Felicity wanted to ask him if he was alright. Being happy that some kind of a sociopath would pay a visit to his home couldn't be a good sign. "Don't worry; with her being here we'll kill two birds with one stone," Oliver assured her when he saw the way she was gaping at him. "John." He turned to his friend. "Tell Roy and the others what we have and take care of these guys." His voice was hard the way it should be when the Bratva Captain gave an order, but Felicity had other ideas.

"No, wait." She grabbed John's forearm and he stopped looking at her with a question in his eyes. "If you take them down now you won't know what exactly they were after. Take my tablet, follow them and see what they will do. Then take them down and finish it."

John watched her for a second and then turned his eyes to his boss wanting to see if he agreed. She looked at Oliver too and found his eyes fixed on her. He studied her for a moment like he was trying to solve a riddle. His face didn't show any emotions beside determination and she looked at him stubbornly, knowing that her idea was better. Oliver finally gave John a short nod and he left taking her tablet with him.

Oliver studied her again for some time and it was starting to make her nervous. "I've noticed that you can be really demanding. Are you always like that?" Oliver asked her like it was something that had bugged him for some time.

Felicity snorted at that, not thinking long about her answer. "You should see me in bed." _Not thinking at all apparently_. She squeezed her eyes shut, groaning mortified. "Please, tell me I didn't just say that."

She heard him give a breathy chuckle and her eyes popped open to see his face. "And why would I lie?" His eyes were light again and he was smirking at her. She couldn't miss how his gaze darkened a little too.

Whatever tense situation they shared before, disappeared in that second leaving them in this moment where they forgot about everything else. He drank her in with soft eyes and Felicity wanted to squirm under his gaze. Her skin tingled in the places he swept with his eyes and she tried to think about something to say, but he was faster.

"Time for a dance?" He gave her a tender smile and extended his hand for her to take.

Felicity blinked surprised. She wasn't expecting that. She thought that she would be too busy with searching for the Triad members to actually consider real dancing with none other than Oliver Queen. And now he was staring at her expectantly, waiting for her answer.

It was dangerous territory to step into. Dancing with him meant close proximity and touching. Things she was trying to avoid for the main part of the night. If she danced with him she wasn't sure if she would be able to leave his arms after.

"I don't think it's a good idea. You should focus on the reason we're really here." She tried to get herself out of the situation when she still could.

Oliver stepped closer without lowering his hand and he made her look straight into his eyes. "Felicity, I want to dance with you. Everything else will still be there after. I won't take no for an answer." His voice was so sure of itself that she felt herself agreeing with him. He sounded tired of her trying to run away from him and his eyes flashed with determination she knew, she couldn't beat.

Felicity swallowed hard, but she put her hand inside his. It was a terrible idea, but she couldn't do anything about that when her body responded without her permission.

He clasped his fingers around hers and she was afraid to think of what would happen next. Whatever it was, it couldn't be anything good because her heart fluttered when he pulled her to the dance floor and gathered her close to him. She came willingly resting her hand on his shoulder and he adjusted his palm low on her back.

At first it was awkward. She was afraid that she would step on his toes, but when the music changed to a slower and more intimate song; they easily found perfect rhythm and swayed to the music.

His thumb started to draw soothing circles across her back and she relaxed more into him. He pressed her closer, so with every move their upper halves touched and their thighs brushed teasingly. He turned his head and his raspy cheek grazed across her temple. It made her eyes flutter shut and her body got warm very slowly in that pleasant way like when she didn't want to get up in the morning, because the haze of sleeping still didn't let go of her body.

She rested her head in the crook of his neck and it fit perfectly. He breathed out slowly like he was afraid that any sudden move could break that moment.

Being in his arms felt wonderful. It calmed her and made her forget about everything else. She felt safe and his touch was tender like he wanted to cherish her with every graze of his fingers. It was everything she ever wanted to feel when a man held her. It was the first time she felt like that. Like she belonged here in his arms. Like his touch could fix everything. Like she finally found _home_.

That thought forced her eyes to snap open. Where did these thoughts come from?

It was too soon to think like that. She couldn't let her heart listen to these feelings because it would get attached and when all of this was over her fragile heart wouldn't be able to take the force of the blow that would come when everything crumbled down around her.

Turning her head to the side she saw people looking at them. She wasn't surprised. They were glancing secretly at her ever since she got here, but this time it felt different. Their gazes took her breath for a second and then the disappointment and sadness settled in and the bliss she felt before disappeared like a dream in the night.

There were women watching them not so secretly with jealous and judging eyes. Thinking about what someone like Oliver Queen was doing with a commoner like her. Why didn't he take one of his previous women like the Playboy he really was. Other people watched her without a hint of recognition in their eyes, thinking she probably was the new flavor of the week that was stupid enough to let Oliver Queen play with her.

It was a harsh reality that hit her straight in the face making her pause and tense in Oliver's arms.

"Hey, are you okay?" Oliver leaned away slightly to look at her face. There was concern written all over his features and his blue eyes bored into hers like he was reaching into the depths of her soul.

She felt that beautiful protectiveness reaching to pull her in again. Oblivion was calling out her name and she could feel herself responding. Her heart told her to stay and fall deep inside where she would be safe, but her brain didn't let her forget about the ugly truth.

She was no one in this world and that wouldn't change just because she felt something new and alluring.

The reality won, laughing at her ridiculous desires.

Felicity broke away from his grip in one move when she couldn't take his gentleness anymore. "I... I have to go," she exhaled not looking at him. "I'm sorry."

She turned around and walked away from him, the ballroom and the judgy looks she felt on her way out.

* * *

It wasn't as cold as she thought it would be. She'd forgot her coat when she hurried outside to clear her head, but now after some time had passed all she felt was the cold air straightened her senses back like they should be.

After she'd ran away from Oliver and his addictive touch she passed by a waiter who carried a bottle of red wine. She'd grabbed the bottle, not caring that he called something at her retreating form and let her feet carry her out to the gazebo she had admired two days ago.

Now she was sitting on the small marble bench, sipping from the bottle and enjoying how the alcohol made her head spin. She felt so ridiculous at that moment. She let herself forget about her decisions and she fell in a mess that was Oliver Queen. The need to explore every feeling that Oliver aroused in her and hold onto the connection she felt when their eyes locked was getting stronger with every moment she spent in his company.

She was messed up.

And her mother always asked her why she couldn't find a nice man and start a family. _Well, that's why mom_ , Felicity snorted bitterly, _men are complicated jackasses. And I need to stay far away from them_.

"I thought that you and alcohol are not a good combination." She heard Oliver's voice somewhere behind her, but this time she was too busy with taking another sip of the wine to be startled by his sudden presence.

She didn't turn; she ignored him and stared into space like her life depended on it. Something warm and heavy landed on her shoulders and her head tipped to the side to take a look at what it was. A suit jacket. Oliver's suit jacket to be precise.

Her arms instantly got warmer enveloped in the heat from his body. She stopped herself from taking in his scent and answered him, "Red wine is an exception in situations like this one."

Oliver sat down beside her on the bench. He mirrored her pose, took the bottle from her grasp and took a sip himself. They were silent, the noise from the Gala far away from the gazebo and the wind was the only sound that could be heard when they stared into space.

"What kind of situation is that?" Oliver broke the silence. "Because I don't understand."

That made Felicity's blood boil in her veins. _He_ did those things to her. _He_ played with her and he acted like he didn't know what was happening? She shot up from her place on the bench, took a step and then angrily turned around to face him.

"You don't understand?" She laughed bitterly. "Oh, I'll tell you what's going on," she muttered, her voice trembling with frustration bubbling up inside her. "What do you want from me? You've known me for two days. _Two days_ , Oliver! And yet you act like you have a right to touch me the way you do, to make me feel those things! To make me feel like you actually care!" She started pacing in front of him, unaware that he was watching her. "You can't play with me like that because this will be over soon and what am I supposed to think then? You're messing with me, playing hot and cold and I'm starting to think that I'm imagining this pull between us. You make me feel stupid and maybe you don't feel anything at all which will be totally embarrassing for me, so just _tell me._ " She stilled her movements in front of him. She sounded desperate, but she didn't care anymore. "What do you _want_ from me, Oliver?"

Her breath was heavy when she finished and she felt like someone took a great burden off her shoulders. Oliver studied her with an unreadable expression and for a moment she thought that she'd gone too far. He could be gentle with her, but he was still a dangerous man. How did they end up here? Everything was spinning out of control.

After a few moments Oliver stood up and his close proximity forced her to look him straight in the eyes. She gasped when she saw how open they were, how he let her see everything he was hiding underneath that mask. The pain he carried for so long it clung to him hard, not letting him move on from the past. The regret that lurked in the shadows of his soul, haunting him with every step he took. The anger that drove him for so long he couldn't remember what ignited it in the first place.

When he answered her, his voice was strained like he was holding onto the last of his control. "I don't know what's happening here, Felicity." He swept his eyes across her face. "I don't have the luxury to let myself feel and act on things that stir something inside me. But the moment I heard you babble you opened something that was long ago forgotten. It was the first time that I really smiled since the island. It took me by surprise, but it felt so good that I wanted to feel that again." He chuckled darkly and Felicity watched as his eyes danced around her like he was uncertain of what to say next. "I was never good with expressing my emotions and that only got worse after the island. I fought for so long to survive that I forgot how to live. _You_ changed that." He grasped her shoulders gently and moved closer to her. "You're the first person who had the courage to speak up to me, not fearing of what I could do. It's refreshing and it pulls me to you even more." His voice trailed off and his eyes moved around her face. "You're an enigma to me, Felicity Smoak. And I can't help but feel the need to understand what you're doing to me. I couldn't help it even if I wanted to. And I don't."

Her heart rate speed up when he said that. Her eyes watched him carefully, waiting for something to tell her that he was lying. That he was still toying with her and any moment he would laugh at her face and tell her how stupid she was to think that he could ever feel the same.

But that never happened.

His thumbs rubbed circles into her shoulders destroying any chance of her thinking clearly for the foreseeable future. His face was honest and she knew he was telling the truth. "What I'm trying to say in so many words." His lips twitched like he was amused by this situation. "Is that you made me remember the times when I was whole and not damaged. And I would like to hold onto that. I would like to hold onto _you_."

Her throat felt dry when she understood what he meant. He wanted this, whatever was between them and he wasn't denying that he felt something too. Well, this was a scenario she wasn't expecting. She was so focused on everything that could go wrong that she missed everything that could be right for them.

"I'm sorry if I messed with your feelings, but like I said, I'm bad at this." He gestured between them. "That's why, after this will be over, I would like to take you out on a real date." She opened her mouth to say something, she wasn't sure what, but he stopped her before she had a chance to make a noise. "I'm not saying we should jump right into a train to something more. You’re right; we do only know each other for two days. So we should take this slow. Get to know each other better first, see what feels right. _Do_ whatever feels right." He held her gaze and paused. After few seconds of silence he asked, "What do you think about that, Felicity?"

She was speechless. Like _I forgot my tongue_ speechless. All she could do was watch him and wonder how she got so lucky to catch the attention of someone like him. She'd never seen him that serious about something before. Not even about the whole Triad problem.

Everything she doubted before fell into place in that moment, filling her with clarity that her thoughts about belonging somewhere and finding a home in his arms could be guaranteed. Someday, maybe a year from now, she would have what she desired because Oliver was willing to give that to her. Who knew, maybe they would stay friends and nothing more, but he gave her a choice to let him in and use that spark they felt since the first time they met as an anchor to ground their emotions. As a first step on the way to what they could be.

All she had to do was say yes.

She knew what she wanted then. And it wasn't what the Vigilante could offer her, because she wanted more than a curiosity that could be satisfied in a matter of seconds. In fact she already did that and even if it felt good it wasn't something she needed. She wanted something beautiful and deep and something that wouldn't be easy. Something that would consume her completely because the feelings she had to explore were endless. She wanted that with Oliver.

She wanted to learn everything about him, his past and present and dreams. She wanted to help him forget about his pain and sorrow and if it wasn't possible, she wanted to soothe it the best way she could. She wanted him to let her in and tell her why he felt the need to detach himself from the people close to him and pretend to stay strong as the Bratva Captain. She wanted to learn it all.

She knew it was too soon, she knew she was risking a lot in that moment. But the feeling of gravitating into each other was stronger and she wanted to explore that.

He was still watching her, waiting for her response, but in the moment she needed her tongue the most it decided to leave her for her own. The only thing she’d managed to do was nod enthusiastically, feeling as her lips stretched into a smile. Oliver grinned at her, tension leaving his body visibly and they stood like that for a moment, grinning like fools.

Oliver wasn't the man he made people believe he was. At least not with her. And that meant he was tired of living under the mask he wore every day. She was happy that she was the person who helped him realize that.

Felicity shivered then, remembering that she was outside in the middle of winter covered by nothing more than a suit jacket. The wine she drank must have stopped working because she could feel how cold her fingers were getting.

Oliver noticed that too, but before he took a step to take her back to the Mansion something over her head caught his attention. She looked up and she froze, mouth falling open when she saw mistletoe hanging right above them. How could she miss that being there?

Felicity quickly turned around to head back inside, the thought of him kissing her right there too dangerous for any of them. But he caught her elbow before she moved and she closed her eyes, knowing what he wanted. For a second she considered running away, because if she let him, they would move past slow and go straight to something that was too much for the both of them. But he didn’t let her go and she was weak so she let him win this time. She let _them_ test this thing between them.

Sighing, she turned to him slowly, but she didn't open her eyes fearing of what his face could show. She just let herself feel. Both of his hands clasped around her elbows so gently that she could think he didn't touch her at all. His palms moved up over her jacket clad arms dragging the overwhelming sensation of promises he laid on her with his touch. When his hands slipped on the bare skin of her neck she felt herself shiver again.

"Are you still cold?" She heard him close to her, closer than she was expecting.

Felicity breathed out slowly trying to calm her hammering heart, but it didn't help. "It's not from the cold," she told him and her eyes fluttered open.

He was right there, staring down at her. Inches separating them apart. His eyes drank her in, lingering on her lips before rising to her eyes again. Lights reflected in his gaze showing her how intimate this moment was. The tension between them grew stronger; she could feel it in the air. She wasn't feeling cold, his eyes, breath, body and touch keeping her warm.

His face came closer, but he didn't kiss her yet, making her wait for it. Crave it. His lips lined up perfectly next to hers and if she lifted her head a little she would learn his taste. But she didn't move. They stayed like that, breathing each other in, breaths mingling and dancing, tempting to close the remaining distance. His smell intoxicating, intimidating.

"Whatever feels right," he murmured, reminding her about what he said before. She barely heard him, but she felt his words on her lips as they slipped past his tongue.

This definitely felt right.

His lips touched hers lightly and then backed away, letting them test the sensation. Her breath hitched and he caught her lower lip between both of his and then sucked gently, slowly. His palms moved up again, resting on her cheeks, bringing her closer.

The kiss was soft, exploratory. Making her toes curl inside her shoes. She would expect from Oliver to kiss like a mad man, but he surprised her and she wanted to know what else he could show her. How much he could draw her in before she lost all of her control and submit to his will.

Her hands moved of their own accord sliding up his chest, feeling his tight muscles under her touch. She grabbed his suspenders and pulled, he came willingly and they were pressed closer than ever. She kissed him properly then, feeling the softness of his lips moving over hers. They were firm and a little rough and combined with his stubble that teased her cheeks pleasantly it was the best sensation she ever felt.

His calloused fingers moved slowly under his jacket to grab her waist, enveloping her in his arms completely. His other hand rested on her neck, stopping itself from diving into her hair. He licked her lips asking for permission to take the kiss further and she granted it opening her mouth to him.

When his tongue curled around hers and she tasted him for the first time she sighed into his mouth. He tasted familiar somehow, but she couldn't tell how. The wine they drank earlier mixed with something that was clearly Oliver. The best taste she ever had. She nipped at his bottom lip playfully to test his reaction and when he groaned pressing her closer to him she licked the sting of her teeth, satisfied.

They moved slowly and it turned her on more than any other kiss she ever had. Tenderness showed itself with every touch he laid on her. It made her feel special and like maybe, someday he could... love her.

They broke apart when the need for air was stronger than their desires, but they stayed close, sharing the same space longer like they couldn't let each other go. Felicity felt content. The kiss taking away any bad energy she had. Her eyes opened heavily and found him looking at her with curiosity written all over his face. She finally let go of him, the suspenders falling back in place and she was glad he wore them tonight.

It had to show on her face because he grinned, showing off that sexy smirk of his and Felicity blushed realizing how much she clung to them. It was a miracle that she didn't tear them apart or something.

She cleared her throat and smoothed down her dress not knowing what to do with her hands. "I should go now, before we turn this going slow into something that we're going to regret later." He raised his eyebrows at that. "Not that anyone could regret having sex with you." She cringed, his head tipped to the side and he bit his lips together stopping himself from smiling. "I didn't mean that we would have sex right now, definitely not. I mean someday, maybe. I'm not saying that we can't." His eyes crinkled in the corners showing off his amusement and she grew more flustered by her ramble. "Why can't you just shut me up?" She asked, frustrated. "What I meant is that this kissing, no matter how mind blowing it could be..." She sent him a _don't be so smug_ glare when his cocky grin widened. "Should not be happening if we want to do this right. _So_..." She stepped away from the gazebo. "I'm going inside and you can cool your jets before the next dance you're going to invite me to." Without waiting any longer she headed back to the Mansion with his amused face in her memory.

She pulled his jacket tighter around herself and when she succumbed to the temptation she smiled, smelling his scent on the material. So far the night was going great. She was glad that she confronted him. Everything she was afraid of changed when he admitted how he felt. Maybe now it would be easier to be around him. The kiss was great and she didn't regret it. The pull felt even stronger after it.

Felicity frowned when she remembered that she still had to talk with the Vigilante. He stirred something inside her, but it was nothing in comparison to what Oliver made her feel. But it was a worry for another day. Tonight she was going to enjoy the rest of the Gala not caring about what people could think about her.

Making her way inside she went to the ladies room first to freshen up. Her cheeks were pink and she couldn't tell if it was from the cold or the other activity that happened outside. She had to reapply her lipstick again and a wave of shame hit her. The reason she had to do that was because she'd let two men kiss her that night. But she knew the first one was a mistake and that made her feel better somehow.

She left the bathroom with the intention of going back to the ballroom, excited of what would come next. She didn't make it far before she heard someone calling out her name.

"Ms. Smoak!" Felicity's head turned in the direction of the voice and she spotted a man. When he came closer she saw his face and recognized him as the one who'd helped her with her coat. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but Mr. Queen requested your presence in his office."

Felicity looked at him surprised. "Antonio, right?" When he confirmed she asked him, "Do you know what he needs from me?"

"Mr. Queen didn't say. He only asked for your immediate presence."

Felicity wondered what that was about. Maybe John had news for them on the Triad case. She didn't think twice about it before she thanked him and made her way to Oliver's office.

When she got there the doors were open which was weird because the two times she was there it looked like Oliver liked to have his personal stuff locked away from prying eyes. She would think that he would do that especially on a night like this, when anyone could get in there.

She stepped inside the room, but she didn't see anyone. It was empty and a strange feeling went through her leaving her uneasy.

"Oliver?" she called out into the empty space. Her eyes swept around the room, but still no one appeared. She heard something from behind her and she turned around quickly. Her heart calmed when she saw that it was only Antonio.

"There's no one he-" A sharp pain in the side of her head didn't let her finish her sentence and like in slow motion she understood that Antonio had hit her with the butt of the gun that he held in his hand.

Felicity's head spun like that time she drank too much wine. She felt herself losing her footing and she reached for the desk that stood the closest to her, but her vision blurred and she didn't catch it in time. She fell to the floor, her hand caught on something on the desk and it crashed in the same moment as she painfully landed on her side. She hit her head on the edge of the desk on her way down and the pain roared inside her skull.

The last thing she saw before falling into darkness was a man leaning over her and a flash of white hair that screamed at her last conscious thought to do something. Felicity closed her eyes and let the blackness take her pain away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So… Do you want to kill me now? *hiding behind her laptop* Was it bad/good/nothing you expected?  
> I think that Part Four will give you the answers to the questions that are probably gathering in your heads right now. (At least I hope that will happen lol) The last part will be updated a little later than usual and don’t hate me because this one is a big monster (12 thousand words right now and it’s just the middle of it) and I need time to make it good.  
> As usual, my twitter to chat with me: @angelica_fit  
> Or follow me on tumblr: seetheskyaboveus  
> Please, leave a comment! I need to know what you think. (Kudos and bookmarks are welcome too) :)


	4. Part Four (1/2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow; however the idea for this story is mine.  
> Soundtrack: http://8tracks.com/seetheskyaboveus/oblivion-is-calling-out-your-name-soundtrack  
> A/N: Hi everyone!  
> I'm so sorry it took me so long, but the Part 4 is finally here! Yay!  
> I decided to split it in half because it was 22 thousand words long, so it really is a huge monster! I promise that the next half of Part 4 will be posted on Wednesday/Thursday. I don't want you to wait so long for the last part. Yep, it's the last part! I don't even know how I got here so... fast? I feel like I started writing this yesterday, it's unbelievable!  
> Thank you all for your support, feedback! I love you!  
> As always, I'm sending my love and gratitude to SweetMe86 and The Alternative Source. *HUGS*  
> Enjoy!

_**Part Four (1/2)** _

For Felicity, the worst part about waking up with a headache was that she got cranky like an old lady. Everything and everyone would piss her off and she had to stop herself from glaring and lashing out at everyone who dared to step on her path. Usually a pint of mint chip helped her get through the awful headache that struck her when she worked on her computers for too long, but in this case she knew it would be different. Because the hammering and searing pain inside her skull wasn't anything as light as what she felt while having a headache.

It was a hundred times worse.

Felicity groaned and her forehead furrowed, the pain spreading in waves when she tried to move. All she could hear was this ringing silence that covered her senses like a thick blanket. What the hell happened to her? And why was her head hurting so much? She couldn't remember anything since the moment she left the bathroom.

The buzzing in her ears slowly faded and after a moment she was able to hear faint sounds of talking. She tried to focus, but her vision blurred every time she opened her eyes so she let them stay closed. They felt dry like the desert and she regretted wearing contacts tonight.

She breathed in and out and that seemed to help her. She realized then, that she couldn't understand the conversation because it wasn't in English. Someone was speaking Chinese somewhere close to her.

Her eyes snapped open, remembering everything that happened after she'd left the bathroom. She regretted that instantly, because the sudden movement sent a new wave of pain crashing through her.

Oliver wanted to see her, but he wasn't in the office. Someone knocked her out with a gun. Antonio... Antonio worked for the Triad! He lured her out, but why? What did he want from her?

"Ms. Smoak, welcome back to the land of the living. Do as I say and no harm will be done to you. Do we understand each other?"

Felicity could hear a woman's voice talking to her, but she was unable to answer her. When she opened her eyes next time she was looking at the ceiling. Her head fell to the side and she saw a couch standing close to her. Feeling soft cushions beneath her back she knew then, that she was lying on the other. That meant she was still in Oliver's office.

 

Well, at least they had the decency to put her on something that wouldn't dig into her back. How long had she been out anyway?

 

Felicity was hauled up so suddenly that she felt like they were trying to pull her arms out of sockets. The new position caused nausea to crash through her body and she stopped herself from bending over and vomiting at her feet.

"Do. We. Understand. Each. Other." The voice was close to her and it held an authority Felicity would submit to if she wasn't so focused on her physical state.

What was that thing John told her once about head injuries and nauseas? It was a sign of a concussion? She had to have hit her head pretty hard on her way to the floor. Ugh, and she could feel something sticky on the side of her forehead. It smelled like... blood? That couldn't be good.

Someone shook her forcefully and she groaned when the nausea increased. She heard an irritated sigh and that made her focus on the important things, like that she was being held captive by the Triad.

"Next time, Antonio, when I order you to capture someone, do it so I can actually interrogate them after."

Felicity's eyes slowly focused on the woman in front of her. She was Chinese with long white hair that actually looked more like a wig and Felicity remembered seeing it before passing out. Her body was slim and clad in black leathers. Her stance firm and confident, showing Felicity that she was a professional and she wasn't afraid to do what was necessary.

 _China White_ , a small voice inside her head hinted.

"What do you want from me?" Felicity heard herself ask, her voice weak but not terrified. At least not yet.

The woman smirked like Felicity's question was something to laugh about, and she came closer, grabbing her harshly by her chin. Felicity didn't have a choice, but to look her in the eyes. They were cold and calculating, the eyes of a real assassin.

"Do you know who I am, Ms. Smoak? Why Antonio brought you here?"

"China White," Felicity stated, not missing a beat, and when intrigue flashed on the woman's face, Felicity knew she was right. "And I can't really think of a reason to do all this."

The Assassin let go of her abruptly. Felicity rubbed her chin to get rid of the pain China White had caused with her strong fingers and it didn't go unnoticed. Antonio snickered behind her and it was the first time she acknowledged him in the room.

He stood stiffly with his arms folded on his chest like he wanted to intimidate her. She understood then, that he stood there to keep her from running away or something. She wanted to smack herself that she didn't sense he was one of them. All the times she had seen him tonight he hadn't left Moira Queen's side. She couldn't have gotten a bigger clue.

China White took a chair from the corner making a show of putting it in front of Felicity and then sitting on it backwards. She was so close that her knees brushed against hers. She studied her intently. Her eyes focused solely on Felicity like she was trying to break her with her gaze. She was intimidating, but not like Oliver when he jumped into full Captain mode.

That helped Felicity to hold onto the last thread of calmness, even if her situation was far away from good.

"You, Ms. Smoak, messed with the wrong people," she said slowly. "You thought you were being smart, secretive. But you missed one important thing." She picked something from the side of the couch and showed it to her. It was a plastic bag with something black inside. Something that looked very familiar. Was that her mace? Felicity's eyes widened in horror. "You forgot your pepper spray that night at the docks. You know, when you spied on my people and witnessed the Vigilante killing them? Sounds familiar?"

Shock gripped her with iron hands, making her body go rigid despite the pain that still coursed through her head. She was so consumed by thinking about the Vigilante that night that she forgot about the most important thing that could lead anyone to her. And the police! They could have found that bottle if the Triad hadn't gotten to the docks before them. She could have gone to jail just because she wasn't careful. Because she didn't remember her mace. And now she was in trouble because of it.

 

God, she was so stupid!

 

China White leaned closer and laughed at Felicity's terrified expression. "It's interesting how today's world works. With one single fingerprint you can find about a person's whole life." She got up from the chair and Antonio handed her a tablet. After studying it for a few seconds she started reading out loud, "Felicity Megan Smoak. Born in Las Vegas on April 26th 1988." Felicity's breathing quickened hearing that, but China White wasn't over yet. "Daughter of Donna Smoak... and would you look at that," she said like she had found something interesting. "Absent father. I wonder why he left, don't you Felicity?" she taunted her. "MIT class of 2008. Working at the IT Department of Queen Consolidated. Owns a house in Starling City since last year." She looked up at her. "Did I miss anything?"

 

They knew who she was. They knew about her family. They knew everything about her.

 

Her breathing intensified, her throat tightening on her and Felicity recognized that as the beginning of a panic attack.

This was really happening. It wasn't just a nightmare.

It was the first time that she really understood how serious and dangerous the situation she got herself into was. That she brought that upon herself because she thought that she was safe, far away from the Triad, working on the side where no one could find her. She thought that the Bratva would keep her safe because no one besides John, Oliver and Roy knew about her involvement in this particular case. And maybe she would be if she wasn't so stubborn to make things go her way and didn't leave a trail leading straight to her. She didn't think that Triad would even consider that someone could be helping Oliver. That's why her idea seemed to be good that night, but then she had to serve herself to the Triad on a silver platter.

And that wasn't enough. She got distracted by Oliver and the Vigilante because her needs were more important than the work she was supposed to be doing. She got comfortable thinking that Oliver had everything under control and that he could keep her safe. She should have checked everything herself. She should have insisted on knowing the whole plan so she could decide if it was enough to keep her away from danger.

 

She just wanted to help John, keep him safe. She didn't really think that it would get out of hand like this.

And now here she was in front of China White who looked like she wanted to murder her on the spot.

 

Felicity jumped up from the couch before her mind even registered what she was doing.

She had to get out of here. She had to get out of here _now_.

She didn't get far, just a step or two before a masculine hand grabbed her by the hair and she was being hauled back painfully into Antonio's chest. She cried out in pain as some of her hair was pulled from her scalp. Felicity hissed and her eyes glossed over, tears being close to spilling, and she had to blink to not give him the satisfaction of making her cry.

"Where are you going, Ms. Smoak? We're not finished yet," China White snickered, not looking at her. She pulled the gun from the holster on her lower back and put the safety off. "Now sit down before I have to use this," she threatened and Felicity swallowed hard knowing that she wouldn't hesitate to do just that. She was left without a choice.

She sagged in Antonio's grip, giving up. He turned her around, tightening his hand in her hair and the other one skimmed across her side brushing against the side of her breast. Felicity bucked against him trying to get free. She felt violated, his hands marking her with fear of what he could do to her if they were alone. He laughed at her actions and shoved her back on the couch. She caught herself with her palms on the cushions before she fell on her face. The sharp pain came back, her head protesting under the violent movements.

She closed her eyes trying to calm down, but it wasn't helping. Unknown feelings were pushing at her from the inside like they wanted to tear her apart and escape. She had never experienced something like this before. The sheer feeling of terror and uncertainty of what would happen to her next. Would she have enough time to fix her mistakes and at least make sure that John and her mother were safe?

"We have a lot of time ahead of us," the Assassin said, crossing the space between them.

Felicity's eyes wandered to the doors with hope that any minute now someone would come barging in to save her. Where were John and Oliver? Why had no one noticed her absence? Her brain started to think about every horrible thing that could stop them from coming for her and her hands started shaking, afraid of the worst.

China White noticed her watching the doors and she smirked sitting on the chair again. "You can stop hoping that someone will save you, Ms. Smoak. Exactly five minutes ago, Malcolm Merlyn asked Mr. Queen for a private conversation that's going to be _very_ interesting. He won't be coming for you any time soon even if he knew you were in danger." Felicity looked at her searching for something to tell her that she was lying. But the woman's eyes weren't hiding anything from her and it scared her even more. "Your friend, Mr. Diggle was taken care of too." Felicity gasped, thinking about what they could have done to him and her eyes glossed over again. John was supposed to be safe. "Oh, don't worry. He's not dead," China White scoffed, seeing her reaction. "What's more important is that we have time to get to know each other better," she said with fake excitement in her voice. "Then we can get to business."

She straightened her back and watched Felicity like she was searching for the best way to mess with her more. Felicity wanted to pull Oliver's jacket tighter around herself so his scent would ground her and make her feel safer, but when her hands found only bare shoulders she realized that the jacket wasn't on her anymore. Her eyes jumped around the room and found it lying on the floor in the place she had collapsed. The urge to reach for it was so strong that she almost listened. The reminder of what happened the last time when she stood up stopped her from making that mistake again though.

"You see, the Triad isn't stupid like you have assumed," China White said finally. "We have been planning this for a long time now. There were moves no one could anticipate, associates no one could guess. Oliver Queen had no idea what we were preparing for the Bratva. Everything was going exactly as we wanted. And then _you_ showed up." She pointed an accusatory finger at her and Felicity looked at her surprised. "Oh, yes. Imagine my surprise when I learned that the person who was disturbing our plans was no other than a woman Oliver Queen was following around for some time now."

Felicity's brows furrowed. "What are you talking about?"

"He didn't tell you?" A look of self-satisfaction crossed her face. "As you know now, since you saw the files on the drive, we are aware of Mr. Queen's moves thanks to his mother's help. He was following you for four weeks before you got involved in his life. I wonder why. What is so special about you, Ms. Smoak?"

Felicity stared at her dumbfounded.

She couldn't process what she was saying. Oliver was following her? But why? He didn't know about her then, what could he possibly want from her when he had no reason to approach her? And why didn't he tell her that he knew her longer than two days? Why lie? Did that mean that everything he told her in the gazebo was a lie too? Did he try to win her trust with false words and promises he had no intention of keeping?

 

She felt like someone had hit her. She couldn't breathe when the blow of his lies settled on her and she saw clearly how wrong she was about listening to her heart. He had tricked her and she'd fallen for his words. She should have known better. She felt it was happening too fast and yet she let him inside. Now she knew how stupid she'd been to do that.

 

"It only gets better." China White smirked when she saw the influence her words had on her. "At first I thought you were just a pretty blonde Mr. Queen wanted to recruit for his organization, but when you showed up at the docks, leaving your pepper spray behind, everything made sense after that. _You_ were the one who told him about our plan." She got up from the chair and crouched in front of her, making her look in her eyes that were showing Felicity how much she enjoyed this moment. And then she told Felicity the conclusions she'd made. "You're working for the IT Department and someone from the IT Department blocked our hackers before they got access to the servers. I bet it was you, with your MIT background I shouldn't be surprised. Then I saw you with the Vigilante in your house decrypting my device. A strange partnership by the way, but I can't judge you. He can make quite an impression."

Felicity's pulse quickened when the realization that the Triad could have killed her and she wasn't aware of the danger fell on her. She was walking around with a target painted on her back and she didn't see that because she was too busy wondering if Oliver felt something for her. And that was even worse because now she knew he had been lying to her since the beginning, that he manipulated her because he wanted something from her.

 

It looked like she didn't know him all that well to tell when he was being sincere. She didn't know him _at all_.

 

"I wanted to finish you right there, but I thought better of it and I followed you when you drove to the Queen Mansion. That was a surprise, you already being involved with the Bratva." China White played with the material of her gown and Felicity flinched away. The Assassin dropped her hands and the corners of her mouth tipped upwards. "I thought that Oliver had approached you already, but seeing how my words shocked you, my assumptions were wrong." Her eyes narrowed like she found another thing to taunt Felicity with. "He lied to you. He lied since the beginning and probably didn't tell you the truth when you needed it. Poor thing." She put her palm on Felicity's cheek and didn't let her turn away from her. She held her like that, her palm pressing on her skin with strength that let Felicity know that if she moved, China White would grab her with the full force she had. "You fell for the wrong man. He used you, promised you would be safe when all he wanted was a guarantee that the Bratva would stay intact. You were never his priority."

Felicity couldn't do anything when a stray tear escaped from the corner of her eye. The truth hit her like a ton of bricks and all she wanted to do was laugh bitterly. She was a genius and yet she missed everything, walking straight into this like a blind person. She felt deceived, hurt and she wanted to give up because if she let Oliver trick her like that, she deserved everything that was going to happen to her next.

"It's such a shame that someone with a potential like yours lets a man manipulate her like that. If you wanted to feel special you should have come to the Triad, we would have taken care of you properly." China White lifted her chin up so she could see her clearly. Felicity didn't care anymore if she saw how scared and hurt she was. The Assassin sighed, looking at her. "You, Ms. Smoak, are the source of my problems. If you hadn't stolen that drive my work would be done already. Now we have to do this the other way." Felicity's eyes never left hers, trying to think of what she could mean. "We're in the Captain's office so that's a plus already. Just give me the drive and I'll let you go untouched..." She eyed Felicity's forehead and messed up hair. "No more than you are now."

Felicity breathed in staring into the woman's cold eyes. She had never seen such an evil looking gaze before. She felt like she was looking at a shell of a human without any connection to her humanity left.

Felicity considered her request. She could help her, but then the Assassin would get access to everything Felicity tried to protect all this time. Nothing would stop her from hurting John permanently. And she knew that she was lying saying that she would let her go. As soon as she had everything she wanted, she would put a bullet inside her brain. Maybe it was stupid of her, but in that moment Felicity felt that dying wasn't such a bad idea if that meant that the Triad was left without resources to finish their plan.

"No." It came stronger than she thought it would and a moment of satisfaction filled her when she saw the stunned expression of the Assassin.

It passed just as quickly as it appeared when Antonio slapped her with the back of his hand. The impact of his move forced Felicity to fall against the couch and she hissed when the pain radiated from her cheek to her lower lip. She tasted blood and she knew that her lip was split open.

She looked up at her, her chin high showing that she wasn't moved by that. "I don't have it anymore," and that was the truth. She had left the drive with Oliver. She didn't care what he would do with it as long as it was safe, away from the Triad. Now she knew it was a good move.

Frustration flashed across China White's face and with a sigh she grabbed something from under the desk. "That's unfortunate," she said putting a black case on the desk. She unlocked it and turned so the front would face Felicity. "If you don't have the drive I'll just have to go straight to plan B and blow up this whole place." She opened the case and Felicity saw a bomb transmitter inside.

Felicity's eyes widened and her breath caught in her throat.

 _No_. No, this couldn't be happening. But it was. There was a transmitter right in front of her. The clock wasn't counting yet, but she knew that any moment now China White could press the button and it would be just a matter of time until everything around them blew up.

"The transmitter connects with the bomb wirelessly and the signal is clear, so if I press this little button right here..." she said picking up the small remote and she delicately touched the red button showing Felicity that she would do that without a second thought. "The counting will start and then you can say "bye bye" to everyone who's in the ballroom." She laughed then like it was the best thing she had ever done. "Isn't that brilliant? Even if I won't get the information from the Bratva mainframe I'll end them one way or another. The fallout of tonight's events will shake Starling City and the evidence will point straight to the Bratva." She leaned against the desk and toyed with the remote. Suddenly Felicity understood what the Undertaking was. She shook her head not wanting to believe in this and China White made a decision before Felicity could state her thoughts out loud. "Let's start right this moment."

" _No!_ " Felicity shouted when the Assassin was close to pressing the button. She fixed her eyes on her, irritated that she was interrupted. "You don't have to do this," Felicity pleaded with her. "I don't have the drive, but I can get access to it from that," She pointed her hand at Oliver's computer she used the other day. "I used the drive on it. I can do it, just please, don't activate this transmitter." She was breathing hard, waiting for her answer. It wasn't a good idea, but this way she could delay her plan and find some way out of here.

China White studied her for a long time and then gave a short nod, Felicity understood when Antonio grabbed her arm forcefully and hauled her up leading her to the desk. He pushed her harshly and she fell on the chair, grabbing the sides of the desk to stop herself from falling on the floor.

"Hurry up. We don't have a lot of time left." China White stepped behind her to watch her work. "And don't try anything. My fingers move when they think that someone tries to cross me," she threatened.

Felicity swallowed hard and powered the computer with shaking fingers. She needed to do this. She didn't have another choice. China White would kill everyone if she didn't have those files. At least this way Felicity would buy them some time and maybe they would still succeed with stopping the Undertaking. She had to have hope. If she lost that as well this would end in the worst way it could.

"I'm sure that Mr. Queen didn't expect that he would lose control over this so quickly. You didn't think that either, did you?" the Assassin asked her while she worked on hacking the computer.

Felicity didn't answer her. She knew that China White was aware of the fact that they were so sure of themselves that they missed every clue that would have helped them see Triad's move before it was made. Maybe if Oliver hadn't lied to her... _No_. This was her fault. She was supposed to be smarter, she should have anticipated the worst. The fact that she trusted Oliver unconditionally because she felt some kind of pull between them brought her to this situation. Now she had to deal with it alone.

Felicity got access to the servers and used her key she put on the files from the drive. She hesitated while writing it, but one look at the transmitter made her press the last key and the files loaded on the computer. The pictures with Malcolm Merlin were the first ones to appear and she remembered that she had to ask about the Undertaking.

"The Undertaking," she started when the files finished loading. "This is your way to destroy the Bratva," She stated, turning in the chair so she could look at the Assassin. "You want to frame them for something. And the device was supposed to download the evidence that the Queens are the leaders of the Bratva so they couldn't get away from this. Am I right?"

China White smirked at her, confirming her theory. "Ms. Smoak, you're too smart for your own good. But you're right." She took a hold of the gun she threatened Felicity with before. "The Undertaking is already in progress. Financed by no other than the Bratva's money thanks to Moira Queen's involvement. This evidence will put the Bratva out of business for good." She plugged a flash drive into the computer so it would download the files. "Thank you to your help, the Triad will finally be able to finish them off. It's going to be beautiful." She straightened and aimed the gun at Felicity. "It's a shame that you won't be around to see this."

The world around Felicity slowed down and her vision narrowed to the gun China White was pointing at her. Felicity watched as her finger slowly squeezed the release and she closed her eyes when she couldn't look her death in the face anymore. She couldn't hear anything just this strange ringing in her ears that at a different time would irritate her, but now it grounded her, letting her calm down and wait for the end.

The glass being shattered broke her out of her daze and she saw someone falling through the window and crashing into China White the moment she squeezed the trigger.

 

Felicity jumped at the loud noise and she waited for the pain of being shot to register with her mind.

But that didn't happen.

When she heard Antonio cry in pain the world came back into motion and her eyes focused to see what happened. The bullet with her name on it hit him in the chest and he was lying on the floor, the blood pouring out of the wound. Felicity knew he couldn't have much time left, yet she could think about only one thing.

She was alive. She was _alive_. Her life didn't end suddenly like she expected. She was still breathing and standing firm in this world. She was hurt, scared and the shock still had a grip over her body, but in any other way she was alright.

But someone else was hurt in the process.

A shaky breath left Felicity's lungs when she realized she didn't feel completely bad about it. He assaulted her, hit her and manhandled her. He would have done more if China White hadn't been in the room.

 

Rough hands clasping around her forearms brought her back to the present and she went rigid, trying to break free from whoever was holding her down. A familiar voice called out her name and it came through the thick fog in her brain. Her eyes widened when she saw that John was the one who had her forearms in a tight grip. His eyes skipped around her face taking in her injuries and she understood that his grip on her wasn't hard because he wanted to hurt her. No, he was trying to assure himself that she really was in one piece.

"Are you alright?" his voice trembled with fear and John was never scared. It really was a close call. "Felicity, are you alright?!" he repeated himself when she didn't answer, just watched him with a dazed look.

She couldn't answer him, a thick lump was stuck in her throat and if she thought about what happened it would choke her, not letting her escape from the fear that threatened to overload her senses. Finally, she managed a small nod, her head bobbing up and down, tears finding their way outside, spilling on her cheeks free at last.

A loud grunting and a cry filled with pain registered with her brain then and her head turned to see what was happening.

China White and the Vigilante were engaged in a fierce fight. They were moving with intent, planting every hit with purpose and strength Felicity never saw before. They were focused on each other, their moves filled with experience and the deadly dance they were engaged in showed her that only one of them would come out of this fight a winner. Felicity wasn't sure which one. China White was an equal opponent to the Vigilante and the longer they fought the more deadly and complicated their moves looked.

Felicity's stomach dropped when she realized something. The Vigilante came for her. He saved her life and now he risked his own to end this and make sure she was safe. But why? He didn't owe her anything and thinking about how she treated him after the kiss she couldn't find any reason to deserve his protection.

"I have to get you out of here," John said pulling Felicity to her feet and she obligated not having strength to do anything else. When they circled the desk, the case with the transmitter caught her attention and her heart stopped when she saw the clock counting, only 4 minutes and 35 seconds left before the explosion. China White had to have activated it when the Vigilante barged in through the window.

In a moment she got her bearings back and she broke away from John, grabbing the case in both hands. "John, there's a bomb in the ballroom!"

John cursed under his breath and took the case away from Felicity's shaking hands. He looked at the clock. "There's not enough time to find it in a space that big. We'll have to disarm it from here."

Felicity felt her throat clench again when she thought about what would happen if they didn't succeed. She had no idea how big the bomb was. It could destroy the whole Mansion killing everyone in it, or it could be small enough to blow up only the ballroom. No matter which was right they had to disarm it.

Her eyes glanced quickly at the Vigilante, but he was still fighting with China White. He looked like he was handling it and Felicity thought that if she wanted to help, this was the only way, "Okay, let's do this," she breathed out shakily. She grabbed a pen from the desk and carefully lifted some cables connecting with the transmitter to see how it was built, "China White told me it connects wireless with the bomb and when the counting stops it will send a signal to activate the bomb. We have to disconnect the clock from the transmitter and it will break the connection with the bomb. Now if I only knew how to do that."

"Leave that to me," John pried her hands away from the case and he looked at her. "I was never happier to use my military skills outside of the army." He turned his focus back on the transmitter.

"Try with the circuit board," Felicity offered hoping that her computer science degree would help John a little.

He carefully opened the lid on the back of the clock giving him a perfect view on the circuit board. The clock was still counting and they'd lost 50 seconds while they talked this through. Felicity hoped they would make it in time. There was no other option.

The clock was connected with four different wires and it only made Felicity even more anxious than she was before.

"The orange and blue are out. They aren't connected with the circuit board. That's good, "John said under his breath and then he grimaced. "That leaves us with green and red."

Felicity wanted to answer him, but was cut off by a loud roar of pain coming from the Vigilante. Her head snapped to him and she gasped when she saw him bleeding from his side. China White had the upper hand on him now. Someone needed to help him before he lost and all of them would be screwed.

John looked at the Vigilante and she saw the battle he was fighting in his head. He wanted to help him, but he didn't want to leave Felicity with the transmitter. She made her choice then.

"Help him, John." He fixed his eyes on her and she saw him hesitate. "Help him! He won't last long! I will stop this; it's like a computer, right?" Felicity wasn't as sure of herself as she sounded, but it was enough for John to make a decision.

"Find the wire." He took her hand and pried it open, "Cut it." He put a pocket knife inside her palm, squeezed her hand once showing her that he believed in her and he took off, jumping between China White and the Vigilante blocking her move when she tried to drive the knife inside him.

Felicity swallowed hard looking back at the clock. A minute and twenty seconds.

She could do this. She just had to believe in herself.

She took the knife and inspected the remaining wires thoroughly, not daring to look away from the transmitter to see how John and the Vigilante were handling the situation. The green one was longer and leaner than the red one, everything else looked the same. Both of them ran from the clock to the circuit board. She knew that only one of them was the correct one. The other was a fake; its only purpose to confuse anyone who tried to disarm it. The question was which one.

Angry tears formed in Felicity's eyes when she felt the frustration grow because of her inability to identify the correct wire. Her vision blurred and she gritted her teeth, blinking away the obstacle.

29 seconds.

Felicity took a deep breath deciding on the red one. The only reason it made sense for her was because under the thickness could be hidden the core of the transmitter. The green one looked fragile and her gut screamed at her that it wasn't the one.

21 seconds.

Felicity gripped the pocket knife tightly and put it under the wire. She hesitated when visions of broken bodies filled her mind. If she was wrong all of them would be dead. If she didn't cut that wire the bomb would blow up in 17 seconds.

She closed her eyes, her brain dulling everything around her, the ticking of the clock the only sound she heard loudly, mocking her.

 

She cut the wire.

 

There was ringing in her ears and for a moment she thought she saw darkness consume her. But then she realized that she had shut her eyes so tightly that it made her head spin. Her eyes fluttered open and her first thought was that she had to be dreaming.

She was still in the Mansion, in Oliver's office. The transmitter in front of her with the clock frozen with just 15 seconds left. The Vigilante threw the last punch and China White tumbled to the floor, unconscious. She was in one piece and the Mansion stood strong on the ground. The guests were safe and didn't suspect anything.

Everyone was alive.

Felicity's legs gave way under her and she sank to the floor. Her back leaning against the desk, her breath leaving her in sharp gasps. Her heart beating fast like it was trying to jump out of her chest and the events of tonight finally fully registered with her brain.

She was _this_ close to losing her life. Twice.

She wouldn't have a chance to do so many things in her life. She would never get married; she wouldn't have kids and a dog like she wanted since she was sixteen. She would never again have a movie night with John where she could tease him and have pillow fights. She would never see her mother again and wouldn't have a chance to apologize that she never visited.

Oh, God. The Triad knew about her mother and she would never have a chance to make sure that she was safe.

Felicity's body started to tremble, the adrenaline leaving her body, the shock taking over her forcefully. Her breathing labored and she couldn't do anything to calm herself down. Her vision narrowed when she saw a figure crouching in front of her. Felicity knew it had to be John or the Vigilante, she just wasn't sure which. She saw him stretching his hands in front of himself like he was showing her that he wouldn't hurt her and then her shaking hands were enveloped by larger ones. The feeling of smooth leather rubbing her knuckles in a soothing manner helped her identify the Vigilante.

"Felicity calm down, you're having a panic attack." She heard his modulated voice, but this time it didn't make her forget about everything else. In fact her breathing intensified even more, not letting her breathe in properly and she could hear herself gasping for air. "Felicity..."

She didn't listen after that. Her body occupied her senses not letting her focus on anything, but her eyes didn't move from the hooded figure. He tapped his chest and said something again. She couldn't hear his words, only the sound of his voice. It was different now, not so deep and gravely and she realized that he must have turned off his modulator because it was the real tone of his voice. How did she know that voice?

Then he made a move to take off his hood and Felicity's frantic movements stopped, leaving her frozen in place and staring at him.

 

Felicity blinked after a while and her head shook from side to side because what she was seeing now didn't make any sense.

Oliver's piercing blue eyes were staring down at her, his face vulnerable and unsure of her reaction. He had some cuts on his face, but it wasn't anything serious. He tightened his hold on her hands and she pulled away from him. He made a move to touch her again, but she pushed him away, not wanting to feel his lying hands on her.

This couldn't be happening. No. Oliver Queen couldn't be the Vigilante. It was her head playing tricks on her. That had to be it. She knew the Vigilante, she _kissed_ him! It wasn't Oliver. She would have been able to tell if it was him. Oliver Queen and the Vigilante were completely different people. They had nothing in common. This had to be a mistake.

But when she looked back at him, the face in front of her didn't change. It was still Oliver in the Vigilante's outfit with stubble just as the one she felt when the Vigilante had kissed her neck.

She kissed the Vigilante and then she kissed Oliver. Both times she kissed the same man.

 

 _Oh, God_.

 

He lied about everything. He lied about his intentions towards her, he lied about his true identity and he didn't tell her he was following her for a month before she had even met him.

She couldn't believe how stupid she was. He used her; she had really let him use her like that. And she, like a fool, thought that there was something more between them. China White was right - all he wanted was to play with her in every way he could.

This time it was remorse that showed on his face, like he knew what she was thinking and that was too much for her. He had no right to look at her like he was sorry for what he did. He had no right to think that she could forgive him for playing with her like that.

Felicity felt the rage wanting to explode inside her veins and she didn't know who she was angrier with, herself or him. She had to get out of there before she did something stupid or worse - before she fell apart in front of him.

She jumped to her feet so fast that she almost tripped over him when she circled the desk on her way out of the office.

"Felicity, let me explain-" She cut him off by snapping her arm back when he grabbed her elbow to stop her.

"Don't touch me!" she yelled at him, her voice showing him every emotion she tried to hide. Anger, betrayal, hurt and shock that he could do something like that to her. She really didn't know him at all. "John, take me home," she demanded looking at her feet. It was too much. She almost died tonight and then she learned that Oliver wasn't the man she thought he was.

This night was too much for her.

"Felicity, I think you should-"

"He lied to me, John." She didn't let him finish. She couldn't help but turn to Oliver, the fire present in her eyes. "How could you lie to me like that?!"

He flinched seeing more in her eyes than he expected. She knew that he heard the unspoken question her eyes were throwing at him. _How could you **use** me like that?_

He opened his mouth to say something, but Felicity turned to John again not wanting to hear his excuses. She was close to tears then, but for a different reason than when she thought she would die. "Take me home, John. Please."

That did it for him and he nodded. She left the room without looking back and she didn't see the silent conversation John had with Oliver. Maybe it was better, because the broken look on Oliver's face wouldn't have let her leave. And she needed that. She needed her home to feel safe again and she needed to cry because she _knew_ that this would blow up in her face and yet, she jumped into it hoping that maybe this time her head would be wrong.

But it was right and she could feel as her heart shattered to pieces, leaving her aching because she didn't know what to do now.

* * *

"I really think I should take you to the hospital," John said concerned while he was opening the door to her townhouse.

"I don't want a hospital." Her voice was weak when she answered him and she didn't stop staring at her mailbox.

She was calm and indifferent, and her head was locked in this weird haze, like she was floating in space. She had been like that since John left her in the car when he went back to the Mansion to quickly check if his security team took care of the Triad members without a problem. She didn't ask what happened when she disappeared, she didn't ask what Malcolm Merlyn wanted to talk about with Oliver and she didn't ask what happened with China White. She just stared into space, her face not showing any emotions.

When the anger left her body she was left with this overwhelming feeling of hurt, ache and disbelief and it took everything in her not to cry while John was watching. Staring into space was helping her to not fall apart.

John let her inside first and she entered without sparing him a glance. She heard him sigh in resignation, but she didn't care what he could be thinking about her state now. She took off her coat and let her pumps slide off her feet landing with a thud on the floor. John was in front of her in the next second. She met his eyes slowly and she gave him a weak smile, but she knew he didn't buy her false bravery. He tilted his head to the side and halted her with a look. She could read him easily and she was glad when she didn't find pity on his face. Just sadness and concern and maybe a hint of guilt she couldn't place.

He sighed again and touched the side of her head gently, trying not to bring her any more pain. Like it was even possible. She was aching everywhere, but the strangest thing was that she didn't feel physical pain anymore. The fact that she got herself fooled like that hurt more than any injury she had on her body that moment.

"Go take a shower, I will take care of your wounds after." John squeezed her forearm gently.

Felicity nodded slowly and headed to the bathroom.

* * *

She didn't remember how she undressed, but at some point she stood naked in front of the bathroom mirror, leaning against the sink and staring at her reflection. Her perfectly styled hair now falling out of the pins on one side. Her mascara smeared under her eyes, her blue eyes red from the hard work she did to stop herself from crying. Her head injury wasn't as bad as she thought, just a small cut with dried blood around it, but her lower lip was split and it hurt when she pressed her lips together.

She looked like hell. She sure felt like it.

She stepped under the hot stream of water hissing when it hit her back, but she didn't do anything to change the water pressure. She needed to feel something different than the emotions boiling up inside her. She scrubbed herself methodically lingering on places where Antonio had his hands on her, she could see bruises forming on her skin and it made her sick. Her hair was the worst to take care of; shampoo pinching in places her hair was pulled from her scalp. But she endured it like everything else. Only when she finished that, her head forced her to face what happened. She rested her palms against the shower wall and her forehead joined them, enjoying the feeling of cold tiles on her skin.

Oliver's lies hurt her more than she thought they could. Maybe it was because she felt so close to him, connected on some level that when the truth came out she felt like he betrayed her. And that was ridiculous because she shouldn't feel this way, she was aware that she didn't really know him and yet she let this hit her in the face when she tried to pretend that there was something more to him than people said. But she didn't expect that he would use her like that.

He was following her for four weeks and she couldn't even imagine what he could have learned about her, what he could have seen. She couldn't think about anything that made sense for him to do that. China White's words were ringing in her ears, but if Oliver wanted her to join him in the Bratva he would have said something. At least she tried to believe in that. She felt violated on so many different levels. He acted like he had no idea who she was and let her believe that he felt something for her.

Then she'd met him as the Vigilante. It wouldn't hurt so much if he didn't come to her and kiss her the way he did. If he didn't make her feel that sexual attraction to him while he tried to win her attention as Oliver Queen at the same time. When he told her that she changed his life and he wanted to explore this thing between them. Now, when she remembered his words all she could think about was that he really knew how to sell his lies.

Because all of it seemed like a lie to her now. She couldn't believe that it was more when it felt like a knife through her heart.

She wasn't mad at him for keeping his secret identity from her. She understood the need to keep it a secret just like she didn't tell anyone about his position in the Bratva. She was mad about how he used it against her. About how his touch and words affected her. About how he kissed her in the gazebo after he'd kissed her as the Vigilante. Why did he do that? What was he trying to accomplish? What did he really want from her? Was this some kind of sick game to him? She was so confused and mad that she could barely breathe.

She couldn't believe that she didn't connect the dots that Oliver was in fact the Vigilante. She discovered that his family was the Bratva; it shouldn't be that hard to find that out too. Especially when the evidence was laughing in her face right now. The Vigilante showed up in Starling City six months ago, exactly when Oliver was rescued from the island. He was accused of being the Vigilante and arrested and that should have led her on, despite the fact that he was exonerated. The similarities between them should alarm her. She was supposed to be a genius.

Then something she hadn't thought about made a cold shiver go through her body.

Oliver was the Vigilante and he killed people. He _killed_.

She didn't try to hide the fact that she was aware that being in the Bratva must have put him in a position when he had to take another man's life. She knew that as the leader he had to do unthinkable things, he had to have earned his reputation somehow. But suspecting that and seeing him kill with her own eyes were two different things. It opened her eyes on a different version of Oliver she would never think that she would have to see.

The Vigilante was dropping bodies around Starling City for the last six months and the police was powerless against him. What were his reasons to do such terrible things? How could he just kill and then act like nothing happened?

Whatever it was, a small voice inside her head she didn't want to agree with, told her that Oliver wasn't a ruthless killer even if it seemed like it. He wouldn't do what he did every night if he didn't believe that it was the right thing. If she knew something about Oliver it was that he was an honorable man, even if his actions were contradictory with the theory that poked at her head. She knew that she needed to hear his version of the story, but now she wanted to be as far away from him as possible.

Events from this night weighted on her shoulders mingling with the hot water and it was getting harder to stand on her feet. She wanted to break down, _badly_ , just for a moment so she wouldn't have to pretend that everything was okay.

He told her that he had everything under control. To _trust_ him. With her safety and with her heart. She did and how did that turned out for her? She almost died, twice in _one_ evening. He kept the fact that he was following her from her and he probably lied about everything else. She had let him in and now she was paying the price.

A sob escaped her and she realized that the drops on her cheeks weren't just water anymore. She was angry at herself that she chose her heart over her head. That she _knew_ how this would end and that it didn't stop her from getting close to him like that anyway.

She sank to the shower floor when she felt that it was too much and for the first time that night she let herself cry over her own stupidity.

* * *

When Felicity left the bathroom she was feeling a lot better. The crying had helped, her head wasn't feeling like it was about to explode from analyzing everything that happened anymore. She felt this empty calmness spreading through her body and pushing her forward. She had taken the time to fall apart, now she had to move on and figure out what was going to happen next.

John was waiting in the living room for her, the med kit spread on the coffee table and when he heard her, he got up from the couch and turned his attention to her. She stopped a couple of feet from him and let him see that she would be okay. She saw relief on his face and he didn't even try to hide it. His mouth twitched in a small smirk when he saw her wearing her favorite fluffy pajama pants.

"Come here. I'll take care of you now," he said in a soft voice that got Felicity moving in an instant.

Felicity sat on the couch facing him and John took a good look at her wounded head. She knew that the shower cleaned up the cut nicely and now without the dried blood covering it, the cut didn't look bad. It certainly didn't need stitches.

"It's not as bad as I thought," John said relieved. "I'll just put a dressing on it and it should be enough."

Felicity nodded, agreeing silently. She didn't want to tell him it wasn't necessary, he looked like he needed to take care of her because tonight was a close call. They could lose each other so easily. For a moment she thought she did lose him. When China White told her that they took care of John, there was a brief moment when she felt like her heart was torn away from her chest. She could only imagine what John felt when the Triad took her.

That reminded her that she had no idea what happened after that.

Felicity looked at him determined, ready to learn everything. "John, what happened? One minute we had everything under control and the next, the Triad tricked us like that."

"I was wondering when you would ask," he sighed. "I was in the ballroom when Oliver came asking if I'd seen you." He got this look on his face, like he was blaming himself for what had happened, like he should have known that she was in danger right then. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it, reassuring him that she didn't blame him. "We were about to go looking for you when Malcolm Merlyn came over." She remembered what China White told her about him buying her some time to deal with Felicity."He wanted to speak with him in private. Said it was important family business, he didn't even try to hide what he really meant. We knew then, that the Triad wanted to get their plan on the move; we just had no idea that they had changed their tactics. When Malcolm told Oliver they had you I wanted to find you, but I was knocked out before I had a chance to do something. And I'm sorry for that." He sounded pained and Felicity had to do something to stop him from feeling guilty.

"Hey." She used her soothing voice on him. "You have to know that what happened tonight is not your fault. You did what you could to keep me safe. If only I'd been more careful the Triad wouldn't know about me helping you." If anyone was to blame it was her. She was too sure of herself and it almost got her killed. She needed to be more careful otherwise she would only endanger everyone around her. "How did you know where I was, anyway?" That was another thing that made her curious. Oliver's office could be an obvious choice to look for her, but somehow she doubted that it was the first place they had thought about.

John cringed at her question and she knew that she wouldn't like whatever he was about to tell her. "Oliver put a tracker on you. To keep an eye on you. It seems that it was a good call after all," he added when he saw her stunned expression.

Felicity's mouth was slightly agape, the shock written all over her face. "He put a tracker on me?" she repeated after him, not believing in the implication of what he said. "When did he do that without me realizing it? Do I still have it on me?" Her hands moved frantically over her pajama clad body searching for something that shouldn't be there. She was getting angry again and it frustrated her that there was another reason to feel like that because of Oliver. She couldn't trust him with anything.

John caught her hands. "Felicity, calm down. The tracker was in the necklace. And he didn't explain exactly what he did to put it in there unnoticed." The look on his face told her exactly what she needed to know and her face colored without her permission.

Oliver planted the tracker when they had kissed. That's why he had his hands on her neck for so long. But did that mean... Did he kiss her just to have an opportunity to slip the tracker in there without her knowledge? Did anything that happened between them even matter to him?

Her heart dropped to her stomach again and the overwhelming feeling of being used came back to her in a large wave. She didn't know what to think anymore.

"I'm so sorry, Felicity." John didn't let her lose herself in her thoughts again. "I'm sorry you had to find out this way. I'm sorry I've kept this from you." She furrowed her brows at him, not understanding what he was talking about. "Learning that Oliver is the Vigilante couldn't be easy for you. I know you must hate me right now, but everything I did was to protect you."

Felicity shook her head because she couldn't believe what John was saying. He got it all wrong. He thought that she was mad at him, that she _hated_ him because he kept this big secret from her. That he failed at keeping her safe when it was all he tried to do for the last six years. He had no idea that her anger wasn't directed at him. She couldn't be mad even if she tried.

Felicity looked him straight in the eyes, dropping her walls down. She saw the moment he saw her fear for him, the pain she hid that Oliver caused her. Her uncertainty of what to do next. "John, I could _never_ hate you. I can't even be angry with you because all I feel is relief that you are alright. That's all I care about." She hoped that he could hear in her voice how much she cared about him. How much it would hurt if he wasn't around. " _You_ are the reason I decided to help. I needed to know that the Triad would stay away from you and I would do that again if that guaranteed that my big brother would still be with me." She felt tears forming in her eyes and this time she didn't stop them. The relief that John was here with her was so strong that she couldn't keep her emotions locked inside anymore.

He grabbed her by her shoulders and in the next moment she was being crushed in the strongest hug he ever gave her. She didn't care that she could barely breathe, she held onto him just as strong. He was okay, she was okay too. Nothing happened to them and it was all that mattered. What Oliver did was forgotten for that moment and all she could feel was peace and safety in her best friend's arms.

She gave a shuddering breath and John tightened his grip on her for a second and then leaned away chuckling lightly. "We seriously need to work on our fear of losing each other. It brings more trouble than I thought it would."

Felicity smiled at him slightly. He was right. They were so alike with fearing the same things that sometimes she felt like they were sharing a brain. He could even read her thoughts sometimes, but she knew it came with the best friend territory.

She cleared her throat, allowing the moment to pass and she focused on the other thing she wanted him to understand. "What you said about not telling me Oliver's secret." John got his serious face again and for a moment she felt bad that he was still afraid that she could hate him. "I'm not mad at you. I understand that it wasn't your secret to tell. Maybe if I wasn't so distracted I would have realized his secret by myself, just like I did with the Bratva." John relaxed visibly and she smiled sadly. "I just need to know one thing." She scooted closer. This was important to her. She needed to know that. "Did you know that Oliver was following me _before_ you asked for my help?"

At first he was surprised. Clearly he had no idea what she was talking about. Then his face turned furious, like he wanted to go to the Queen Mansion right now and have a serious talk with Oliver. That was all she needed to know. "How long?" he asked with a strained voice, like even imagining that his friend could do something like that was unthinkable.

"Four weeks," she told him. "At least that's what China White told me. I wish it was all a lie, but I can feel she was telling the truth." She breathed out heavily. "Why would he do that, John?" her voice broke at the end. It was affecting her more than she wanted to admit.

"I don't know, Felicity." He ran a hand over his face, his features showing exasperation. "I have no idea what this man is thinking lately. But I know for sure that I'll have a serious conversation with him as soon as I see him," he said like he didn't care that Oliver was the Captain. And the Vigilante.

In a second she had new questions that needed to be answered immediately. If not, she would just get sick from thinking about them at night. "John, the Vigilante... _Oliver_ ," she corrected herself. "He killed a lot of people... It doesn't bother you?" her eyes moved back up to his and he was watching her carefully, thinking deeply about what to say.

"I killed a lot of people being in the army," he finally said with a heaviness to his words that showed her it wasn't easy for him.

"That's different, John. You were fighting a war." She wanted to scoff at his logic, but she stopped herself.

"Oliver's mission is not so different from mine," he said and then sighed loudly like this was something that made him exhausted. "The things I did made me wonder if I'm still a good person. A good man. This, helping Oliver made me feel like I haven't in a long time." She wanted to tell him that he didn't need Oliver to prove that he was a good man. He was the best person she ever met and she would never guess that his past haunted him like that. But John wasn't finished yet and she didn't want to interrupt him when she could clearly see that he needed to tell her this. "The world isn't just black and white. There are places, dark places, where people are hurting because someone else decided that they can do whatever they want. This city is dying and it needs help before it's going to be too late."

"And you two are helping the city by killing the corrupt?" she asked stubbornly.

"I haven't killed anyone since the army, if that's what you're asking about," John answered, not missing a beat. He knew she was fishing for answers and maybe he didn't like her approach, but she knew he would tell her anything she asked to help her understand their actions. "Sometimes we need to do things that other people can't. Oliver does that. He fights with the bad guys and he kills when he doesn't have a choice. I'm not saying that I approve of his methods, but I'm there to pull him back on track when he loses himself in his fight."

"Like his own, personal Jiminy Cricket." She half-smiled at him.

She might not understand Oliver's reasons to do what he did, she might think that he had to have lost his mind on that damned island, but she was sure of one thing. John was the best person to save him from losing his soul. Things that Oliver had to do every night, they couldn't be easy. They had to take a toll on him, leaving scars and pulling him to the shadows. She saw that in his eyes when he let his walls down in front of her and despite that she was mad at him at the moment, she was glad that he wasn't alone to carry that burden.

John snorted at her remark. "Yeah, you could say that." He sobered up the next moment, losing any sign of amusement. He took her hand in his, squeezing. She turned her attention to him again. "Look, Felicity," he breathed out, watching her the whole time. "This was a lot to take in and you don't have to feel pressured into anything. Take however many days you need to think about this, weeks if you have to, but I want you to know that you don't have to be okay with what we do."

Felicity closed her eyes, relieved. That was one thing she was worried about. That they would drop these bombs on her and force her to accept things as they were. She needed to come to terms with it on her own. "Thank you for understanding."

"Of course." John nodded. He took a hold of a small piece of gauze and Felicity realized she had completely forgotten why they were here in the first place. For the next few moments he tended to her injury and they fell into comfortable silence. She was dozing off because of his methodical moves when he decided to speak again. "You know, you'll have to talk to him eventually," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Felicity tensed for a second, her eyes opening slowly. "I need some time, John. Right now everything feels like a mess to me, that he manipulated and used me. Any conversation with him would end up badly," she admitted, not looking at him.

"Sometimes Oliver does things without thinking them through," he said while he was cleaning the med kit. "But I've seen the way he looks at you and I'm sure that whatever you feel was a lie, in fact came straight from an honest place in his heart." He got up from the couch and her eyes followed him when he gathered things from her coffee table to take them back to the kitchen. "Oliver's a broken man. He was lost for five years; he endured things we can only imagine. He's still finding his way back home." His eyes caught hers. "You have to believe that he meant well, but in his misfortune it came out wrong."

He disappeared behind the kitchen counter and Felicity heaved a long-lasting sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose. She wanted to believe him. She wanted to believe that Oliver's intentions towards her were honest, that he wouldn't intentionally hurt her like that. But tonight's events were still too fresh for her and her heart wasn't letting her believe anything else.

 

She was hurt because she rushed into things; forgetting and forgiving were the last things she needed to rush into.

 

Felicity's eyes swept around her living room, the warmth of it making her feel safe and like everything would be okay someday again. Her gaze landed on her phone and she lingered on it when she felt a need to make sure that her mother was safe. She was dialing her number in the next second.

Felicity held her breath, waiting for answer from the other side. With every next signal her anxiety grew, fearing of what that could mean. Finally after the 6th signal she heard her mother's voice.

" _Felicity, sweetheart, why are you calling so late?_ " Her voice was hoarse and Felicity realized that she must have woken her up.

"Mom... I'm sorry," Felicity said relieved, tears willing in her eyes again. "I just wanted to hear your voice."

" _Is everything alright, honey?_ " She could hear concern in her mother's voice. It's not like Felicity called her often, it had to feel strange to her.

"Yes. I just had a long day," Felicity breathed out. "Anyway; I didn't want to wake you up. Go back to sleep, I'll call you in the morning, okay?"

" _Are you sure, sweetie? You sound a little off._ "

"Yeah, it's alright." She paused, hearing her mother moving across the bed. "Goodnight, mom." Her voice cracked at the end and she hoped she didn't hear that.

" _Goodnight._ "

Felicity ended the call.

Her eyes closed and she put her head inside her palms, feeling like she could breathe again. Her mother was okay. The Triad didn't get to her.

Felicity heard a throat being cleared behind her. She didn't turn; she just listened to what John had to say to her. "I figured that since you can't go to sleep yet because of your potential concussion, we should watch a movie." She was glad that he didn't comment on her phone call.

"Sure, why not," she agreed. She got up from the couch and closed the space between them, but didn't stop, just headed straight to her bedroom. "There's a tub of ice cream in the refrigerator. Bring spoons," she said loudly so he could hear her.

She could swear that he snorted at her predictable demand, but she didn't dwell on it, just lifted the covers and got in bed. She snuggled closer to her favorite pillow and she felt how tired she really was. John needed to hurry if he didn't want her to fall asleep like she desperately wanted to.

A moment later he was in the room, a tub of mint chip and two spoons in hand. She patted the space beside her and he obligated, sliding on the bed and handing her a spoon. He took the remote control and turned the TV on, quickly looking for something worthy of their time. He settled on a comedy, something she needed to lighten her mood and her head leaned on his shoulder, grateful for his mind reading skills.

"If only Lyla could see you right now, cuddling in bed with me..." Felicity said playfully.

John snorted at her teasing him and played along. "Don't worry; she loves you too much to kill you for using her ex-husband as a pillow."

Felicity answered him by taking a quite large amount of ice cream on her spoon and shoved it inside her mouth, wiggling her eyebrows at him suggestively. John grinned, shaking his head at her childish behavior and Felicity settled against him more comfortably.

They stayed like that for the most of the night, teasing each other, watching the movie and consuming the ice cream in a short period of time. Felicity could forget about what happened for a little while and it made her feel lighter, like it was just another movie night she often had with John. Yeah, it definitely helped her with calming her chaotic thoughts and made her ready to face another day with a feeling that she could take on whatever would be thrown at her.

She was strong. She would get through this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Uff... That was a rollercoaster of emotions for me. I hope that everyone can understand now how Felicity's rushing into everything was a bad idea. I feel like it had to be done to set some things straight between them and you'll get that in Part 4 (2/2). I hope that you enjoyed this Part and I would really like to know your thoughts. :)  
> P.S. I have a surprise for you guys! Something I'd promised a friend on twitter and you'll see that after I’ll post the last piece of the Part 4. Stay tuned. :)  
> As usual, my twitter to chat with me: @angelica_fit  
> Or follow me on tumblr: seetheskyaboveus  
> Please, leave a comment! I need to know what you think, did you like the development of the story. (Kudos and bookmarks are welcome too) :)  
> See you soon!


	5. Part Four (2/2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow; however the idea for this story is mine.  
> Soundtrack: http://8tracks.com/seetheskyaboveus/oblivion-is-calling-out-your-name-soundtrack  
> A/N: Hi!  
> So this is it. The final Part. God, I can't believe it's already over! I hope that all of you enjoyed this story as much as I did. Thank you for your attention and amazing comments – you are inspiring me to write more! I love you guys!  
> I want to thank you The Alternative Source. You're the one that convinced me to publish this story and you helped me like no one else. I love you and I wish you a lot of success with your stories! *HUGS*  
> SweetMe86, you approached me when I needed you the most, your editing saved this story and made it better. I'm going to be grateful forever and I'm so happy that we're going to continue our partnership. Lots of love! *HUGS*  
> This Part – the last one – is a little bit shorter and it's different from the others. It jumps in time a lot to show you how everything worked out between Oliver and Felicity, but there are scenes where they have some nice talks and I enjoyed writing them. I hope that you'll like how I decided to end this story.  
> P.S. Please, read the ending notes! :)  
> Enjoy!

_**Part Four (2/2)** _

* * *

**_Seventeen days later_ **

* * *

 

Felicity liked her job. She liked how she was the best in the QC's IT Department, she liked how she could play with computer parts to make their technology better and she liked how she could create code to make their firewalls unbreakable. She didn't whine when she had to fix email accounts for employees who downloaded viruses with porn even if it felt like a waste of time when she could be doing much more important things. She was organized and committed to her job even on her worst days.

Now, it wanted to bite her in the ass and she would do anything to just have one peaceful day at work. Or sleep for more than 5 consecutive hours. Seriously - anything. Because a week ago she'd had to be so ''smart'' to decide that having two full time jobs seemed like a good idea.

 _Ugh_ , just kill her already.

She fell on her bed with a thud, not caring that she wasn't even under the covers. She was beyond exhausted. Like seriously, never in her life had she had so many assignments and she thought that MIT was a hard nut to crack. Well, half of her new assignments weren't exactly legal, but it's not like anyone from QC knew about that.

Of course, besides Mr. Steele and Mr. Queen.

Seven days ago she'd been called to the CEO's office and all she could think about was that Mr. Steele was going to fire her. And that had made her angry because why would they fire her? Just because she didn't want to talk to the Bratva Captain anymore? She was their best employee! She would fight for her job!

Of course when she'd said that to Mr. Steele he just cocked an eyebrow at her and then explained why she was there. Apparently, Oliver had told him about her involvement in the Triad's case and Mr. Steele wanted her to keep helping the Bratva with finishing the Triad once and for all. She would do what she did best: hack and dig up every dirty secret the Triad kept hidden. She would get a closer look at Mrs. Queen and Merlyn's activities to find a loophole in their plan.

Mr. Steele hadn't been happy that his own wife was a traitor to the only family he had and he wanted to do everything he could to end this. He'd promised her that no one would know about her involvement besides the people that already knew. They didn't want to endanger her life even more especially when they didn't know if China White and Malcolm Merlyn had shared the news about her with the Triad.

She'd been surprised when she got a security detail assigned to watch her every move. At first she'd been opposed to it; she didn't need someone following her like a lost puppy. But then she had thought better of it and saw Mr. Steele had a point. The Triad could easily kill her if they knew about her.

Roy was the one that usually was on her watch. He didn't stay close to her because that would look suspicious, but she could see him sitting in a car a few houses down from her townhouse at night and by day he blended with his surroundings so well that she could think he wasn't even there. Once, she could swear she had seen Oliver watching her home, but she was still too angry at him to do something about that.

He didn't try to contact her in any other way and something told her it was John's doing. She was grateful for that because she needed to feel ready to talk to him. She wanted to have a clear mind for that conversation so she could really listen to him when he would try to explain. Right now she felt that she would only snap at him and she didn't want that. She was an adult; she was capable of handling a serious conversation even if it threatened to end with her in tears.

Felicity sighed, feeling relieved that her hard job was finally getting her somewhere. The first thing she'd done successfully was finding the person responsible for creating the device the Triad wanted to use to steal evidence against the Bratva. They didn't need another device roaming somewhere in the world. The Bratva had taken care of that person, she didn't ask how. She didn't need a confirmation of what she could already guess.

They'd disposed of Antonio's body like he never existed, the other Triad members who were in the Mansion that day had disappeared too and China White had been taken somewhere and she had no idea what they did to her. The Bratva definitely knew what they were doing.

The next thing she had done, the thing that consumed all of her free time outside of work, was finding the missing 2.6 million dollars that Moira Queen claimed to had invested in her friend's company. It appeared that there was no investment; the money had been used to set up an offshore limited liability company called Tempest. A company that had no ties with the government or Queen Consolidated. Felicity needed to know what that really was because it wasn't anything that Mrs. Queen claimed it to be. Someone was regularly sending money to Tempest's hidden account and she needed to know what they were financing. This could be the lead that would give them answers about the Undertaking.

But now it was after 3 AM and Felicity needed to reboot her brain. She was falling asleep on top of her laptop as it was. If she wanted to do her job right she needed to be in shape. She was glad that it was Saturday already because she could sleep in without feeling guilty.

* * *

She was in this haze between being awake and dreaming when she heard her window opening and closing. She didn't do anything; her body didn't freeze in fear because even in her half-asleep state she could feel who it was. She was so ridiculously in tune with him that she could sense him anywhere.

He didn't move, just kept his position beside the window and she could feel his eyes on her. It made her angry at herself that even after everything he did her body was still reacting to him. That she still felt that pull, now mixed with longing, like she had actually missed him for the last few days. And she hadn't.

She _hadn't_.

He thought she was sleeping and somehow that gave him the right to be here right now, watching her. Apparently when she hadn't come to him, he came to her even if she wasn't ready for that yet. But she wanted to see his face and find out if remorse was still present there. She wanted to look him in the eyes and see if his actions had hurt him just as much as they had hurt her. She wanted to ask him questions and she needed his answers. It had to happen someday, their talk was long overdue, but it didn't mean that she had to forgive him tonight.

She just needed to listen.

The tiredness left her body in a second and she reached her hand to the bedside table to turn the lamp on. He was there in his Vigilante outfit, surprised that she was awake and maybe a little sheepish that she had caught him watching her. Her eyes landed on his and she felt like something crackled in the space between them, but she ignored it. She watched him not letting him read anything from her face and the deaf silence between them was the only thing that helped her remember that it wasn't a dream.

"So, the Vigilante took over my security detail." Her voice was louder than she intended it to be and she cringed a little. He stood still, like he didn't want to do anything that would make her angry at him. Well, he should have thought about that earlier. Felicity sighed, the lack of sleep making her cranky. "Should I be concerned about you stalking me now? Oh, wait." She paused, propelling herself up on the bed on her elbow. "You have already done that for six weeks now." His head snapped in her direction and she knew that he hadn't been expecting for her to bring that up so fast. Her eyes narrowed at him, showing that she wouldn't pull any punches. "I'm sure that John has already told you that I am aware of your little secret. Hopefully he gave you an earful for that." He lowered his head like he was ashamed of that, but she wasn't sure because she couldn't see his face when he hid it under the hoo. "What's with the hood? I already know who you are."

He kept his position and it made her mad after a few moments because he was the one who had come to her. If he wanted to keep standing in silence he could have done that in his Mansion as well.

She was about to turn the lamp off and turn around to go back to sleep when he reached up and in one fluid move he lowered the hood from his head. Oliver's face lifted after a second, like he needed some time to gather enough courage to look at her. When he did, she didn't expect to see him being so open and vulnerable. The raw emotions on his face hitting her hard and she was stunned that he was capable of feeling _that_ guilty.

Because it was guilt that dominated his features because he had realized how big mistake he made. How he had done everything wrong and now it was his fault that they'd pulled away from each other. It was remorse that if he'd just talked to her, if he'd told her everything when she met him or if he'd approached her in one of those weeks he followed her, they would follow a different path, a better path and they would still be able to try to explore their feelings. It was self-blame that he'd been too sure of himself, that he hadn't seen Malcolm Merlyn's traps and he couldn't keep his promise to keep her safe. That she had almost died because of him.

Felicity took in a shuddering breath, not daring to look away from him. If she was weaker like a week before she would have caved in and forgiven him right in that second. But she had learned from her mistakes. She wanted him to understand that he couldn't do things like that and think that an apology would be enough to set things right.

Blowing a long breath out through her mouth, she patted the free space beside her to show him that he could get closer. He did. Slowly he stepped forward, hesitantly sitting on the edge of her bed. He wasn't close enough to touch her, but she could feel the heat coming off his body and dancing across the exposed skin of her legs.

It brought memories of him being here the last time. Even if she'd thought then that he was someone else and what they had done was a mistake, she couldn't help but remember how his hands had felt on her skin. How his hard body pressed against hers had made her feel small and fragile. She had to close her eyes to chase away those thoughts. She couldn't think about that right now.

Her eyes opened when she heard a heavy breath escaping his lips. He wasn't looking at her, his eyes focused on her bedroom wall and his mouth was slightly agape like he wanted to say something, but didn't know where to start.

Then his head slowly turned to face her and their eyes met. "Thank you for not... backing out and not leaving us alone in this." His voice was low and quiet like he didn't have the strength to talk at all. She knew he was talking about the Triad, but she heard something in his voice that made her wonder if he had meant something entirely else.

"Why should I?" she asked him and she was surprised when her words sounded like a challenge. Maybe she wanted to show him that she could separate her feelings from things that were more important. "Because  _this_ happened?" Her hand gestured between them when she didn't know how to describe their problem.

He was watching her, searching for something on her face and when he didn't find it he asked her, "How do you feel?" He paused, considering saying something more. He furrowed his brows like he wasn't sure if he could ask, but after contemplating it some more he made a decision. "What do you feel?"

Felicity blinked, surprised and then laughed incredulously at his ridiculous question. Was he really asking about that? She sat up leaning her back against the headboard, her legs bent and her gaze locked on his face. "You want to know what I feel?" He clenched his jaw, preparing for the blow of her words. "I feel hurt, because you've lied to me Oliver. Not about being the Vigilante - I can understand that. You lied about knowing me for six weeks!" Her voice took a louder tone and she took in a deep breath, closing her eyes at the same time to get back her composure. When she felt that she could talk again, her eyes opened to see Oliver deep in thought like he was thinking about her words. "And that makes me think that you've lied about everything else as well." He opened his mouth trying to tell her otherwise, but her hand shot up to stop him.

If he wanted to know what she felt then he would have to shut up and listen.

"When I wasn't working, I've spent every spare moment this last two weeks analyzing every single word you said to me. And I want to believe that what you said is true - believe me, I do." She shook her head and pressed her lips together, feeling that she was getting emotional again. "But all I can think about is that you _lied_. You used my unawareness that you're the Vigilante against me and kissed me as him and then messed with my feelings as _you_ and it wasn't enough because you had to kiss me too." The words were leaving her mouth before she thought them through, but she didn't care. She needed to say this. "You know how that makes me feel?" She waited for him to look at her and her eyes showed him everything she kept to herself for the last two weeks. "Like you've used me in some kind of sick game of yours and you manipulated me. And I don't know _why_. I can't think of one reason you would do that, because I can't _believe_ that you would be that kind of man."

She was close to tears now. Her eyes were starting to sting and she had to bite her lip to keep herself together, not caring that it still hurt where her lip was split. She'd managed to stay in one piece for the last two weeks, but now, with him sitting in front of her with this apologetic look that hadn't left his eyes since she started talking, she felt that she couldn't keep doing this. He had hurt her. A lot. And it shouldn't hurt so much, because they just met. Yet he'd managed to turn her into one of those girls and now she couldn't understand her feelings any more.

"Felicity." His voice was begging her to look at him, to listen and believe in what he was saying. Her eyes focused on him without her permission, but it was hard to keep looking at him when all she wanted to do was hide from his intense and open gaze. "I never wanted to hurt you. I am so sorry." He hesitantly took a hold of her left hand that was lying between their bodies.

Her head bobbed up and down in time with his words and her lips turned up into a sad smile. He really was sorry. She could see that in the way he held himself in front of her, like he was giving her the power to do anything with him. She could destroy him, hurt him on levels he had no idea existed. She could tell him to leave her alone and never talk to her again. She could accept his apology and move on, hoping that he wouldn't do anything like that again. That it was the last time he hurt her like that.

She could do it all and he would let her, he would take it without a word. But she knew if she caved at that moment, she would regret it. Regret that she'd let a man manipulate her into doing something she wasn't ready for. And she needed more than an apology.

She deserved more.

Slowly, her hand slipped from under his, the warmth of his palm staying with her like it wanted to hold onto her, convince her to stay. His eyes closed and she could tell that he thought she decided to shut him down, but he was wrong.

"If you want me to believe that you're truly sorry, you have to explain everything." She told him and his bowed head came back up to gaze at her with hopeful eyes. "You have to tell me everything that happened since the moment you have first heard my name."

Oliver blew out a long breath. His eyes skipping over her like he wanted to see if she really wanted that and she hoped that her face showed him her determination. Then he turned to fully face her, his back straight, his eyes never leaving her face and she felt that it was better when he wasn't looking at her like that.

"The first time I've heard your name was six months ago after you almost spilled your coffee on me." Felicity's eyes widened in surprise. He remembered that? "Walter was the one who had told me who you were. He couldn't stop talking about how talented you were and what you did for the company. He was really proud of you. He still is." He gave her one of his rare smiles, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I... uh." He cleared his throat awkwardly and she wondered what was on his mind that got him so flustered. "There has been a lot going on back then and there were more important things to think about than a cute blonde I saw at the company... You weren't exactly a priority to me then," he said, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment like he thought that she might be mad at him for what he'd said.

He was lucky that she was still frozen on the part where he called her cute so she kind of didn't care about the rest.

"Almost seven weeks ago we were having a family dinner and your name has been brought up again. That was the moment my interest in you has started." She tilted her head to the side, listening to his every word. "I was looking for someone valuable to help me with my... night time activities. Someone who knew his way around a computer better than me and I thought that you might be worth a sho." His eyes weren't focused on her anymore and she knew he dove deep into his memory. "I've decided to do a background check on you first. There has been a lot of Triad people trying to get inside to infiltrate the Bratva and I needed to be sure that you weren't one of them. Following you seemed like a good idea back then."

Felicity was stunned that he could think someone like her could work for the Triad. She didn't exactly give off the secret agent vibe.

"But then I... um." His head lowered and he was looking at his lap like what he was about to say was personal to him. "I've seen you outside of work in your townhouse. Cooking dinner and dancing to the music like nothing else existed. You looked so happy and carefree like the dark world outside couldn't touch you in the bubble you made for yourself. And I felt this...  _need_ to experience it myself." His head shot back up to her and his eyes were serious, sincere. "For the first time in years where pain and destruction were the only things I knew how to live with I wanted to feel human again. _You've_  done that, Felicity." Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes went wide, watching him like she was seeing him for the first time. "After that revelation I went back to the Mansion because these... feelings - they have taken me by surprise. And it was too much for me. A monster like me doesn't deserve to feel like that. After what I did - what I still do, misery is the only thing I deserve."

Felicity's hand moved to grab his before she knew what she was doing. Her fingers tightened around his when he tried to pull away like she did before. How could he think that? "Please, don't say that. Don't _believe_ that. You deserve so much more. You deserve _good_ things," she said with a broken voice because her heart was aching painfully that he thought of himself like that.

He might have done horrible things, he might have hurt her feelings, but he wasn't a monster. He was just a man doing everything he could to survive. He'd made mistakes like everyone, but that didn't mean that he was doomed to be forever alone in the dark. He shouldn't feel bad about wanting more out of life.

She had tears in her eyes when she thought about what he had to endure. It wasn't fair. One man shouldn't feel so broken.

Oliver caught an errand tear falling down her cheek with his thumb. It was a tender gesture and he smiled sadly, watching his thumb on her skin, but the shadows on his face didn't disappear. She could tell he didn't believe her.

"But I was weak," he said like the moment before didn't happen and she was sad that he still felt like pretending was his only way to survive. "I came back to your house the very next day. I told myself that I was just continuing my mission, but in truth I wanted to feel your optimism pulling me into the light again, even if only for a second. Then John has showed up on your doorstep and I realized that somehow he was lucky enough to be in your life. To feel your happiness radiating through him. I was jealous of him." He gave a breathy laugh more seen than heard and the tone of it was so broken that she wanted to do more than hold onto his hand. But she was frozen in place, not daring to move even an inch because she was afraid that she would wake up and all of this would be just a dream. "I talked to Walter the next day, asked more about your skill set and my mother had to have heard everything because the next time I saw you, the Triad had been tailing you from QC. Back then I had no idea how that could have happened, what could they want from you. But I was sure of one thing - I would end every single one of them before I would let them touch you," his voice grew stronger; the words held meaning and Felicity knew he was being completely serious.

A shuddering breath left her body, taking away the doubts she had about him. When she thought that he'd failed at keeping her safe in fact he had been protecting her even before she knew him. She was alive because of him. He'd come for her when China White held her captive and he got hurt trying to stop her. When she'd thought that he lied about having feelings for her to use it against her, in truth he felt something for her even before she had developed her own feelings. He'd willingly given up his secret to take her mind off the fact that she almost died so she could focus her attention on him when he'd knew that she could hate him for keeping everything from her.

Doing selfless things like that made her realize that he was far from the man she'd thought he was when she had found out the truth. He didn't manipulate her like she had thought; he kept her safe in his own twisted way. And that was another reason why she didn't think of him as a monster.

Felicity sighed heavily, feeling that everything she had promised herself was breaking under the intensity of these new thoughts she started to have since the moment he showed up in her bedroom. She was supposed to be mad at him, not wanting to reach for him and forget that the last two weeks even happened.

Oliver looked her in the eyes and she gave him the smallest of smiles, wishing that they had met under different circumstances. That they had been honest with each other from the beginning and that everything turned out differently. That now, after what he said, she could forget what had happened and they could move on, trying to salvage anything that was left between them.

Her heart wanted that, but her head was cautious, not letting her come too close because she could burn herself again.

Oliver's free hand came to join the tight grip she had on him. His thumb rubbed her knuckles, making the warmth spread up her arm and then he squeezed her hand gently. "Felicity, I want you to know that even if I've been keeping this from you since the beginning, everything I've said to you, everything I did after you met me was true. Is still true. Hurting you was the last thing I wanted. I need you to believe me." His voice was so strained, on the edge of begging, like her knowing that was the most important thing for him in that moment. She only managed to nod, her lips pressed together and her eyes dancing around him. She couldn't answer him because she was afraid of what would come out of her mouth. "I know that you probably don't want to see me after knowing what kind of person I am... that I killed so many people." She shut her eyes because she didn't want to be reminded of that. "But one day, when you will feel the need to know more, to understand this." His hand gestured to his leather outfit, but she knew that he also meant understanding _him._ "I want to tell you some things about the island."

Her eyes snapped back to him and her gaze focused on him instantly. He was watching her with a small quirk to his lips and she knew that he saw how stunned his words had left her. He wanted to talk about the island with her. Willingly. He wanted to answer her questions so she could trust him again. And he didn't force it on her, he gave her a choice. It was her call. He left the power in her hands and she could do whatever she wanted to do with that.

And that made her eyes open on another important thing. He wouldn't do any of this if he didn't truly care. If he didn't care about her.

The breath caught in her throat when the understanding of this fell on her. She didn't know what to say. She couldn't say anything.

Oliver smiled at her lightly and his eyes weren't glazed over with darkness anymore. He knew she understood the real meaning of his words and he was smiling about that. He did that on purpose. To make her wonder about his words even more and he knew that she would come to him eventually just so she could hear out loud that he had really meant that.

She opened her mouth to say something, but Oliver got up from her bed and headed back to the window. He turned to her for a second, giving her the last long and full of promise look and then he disappeared just as fast as he had appeared.

Felicity sat on her bed a moment longer, her mind frozen on what had happened and she felt that it would be harder to stay mad at him than she thought it would. He left a mystery at her feet and it was so hard to not jump right ahead to solve it.

She fell back on the bed; her eyes wide open because her mind wouldn't shut off. She wanted to go to sleep, to forget about him for a few hours, but she couldn't stop herself from analyzing everything.

He knew what he was doing and he knew that he would get her attention.

"Frack," Felicity sighed loudly into her pillow, feeling that she wouldn't stay away from him for too long. "Oliver Queen, you are going to be the death of me."

* * *

The next five months had passed so fast that everything that happened in that time had been a blur to Felicity.

After that night when Oliver had come to apologize she decided to ignore the burning questions that he'd left inside her head and focus entirely on the job Mr. Steele had asked her to do. It was better this way. Stopping the Triad was a priority and dealing with her unresolved feelings could wait for a while when she would have some time to actually think about them.

Oliver hadn't tried to talk to her, not taking away her choice to come to him. Surprisingly, she'd stood her ground and she consulted with him about her progress on the case through John or Mr. Steele. It had been easier than she expected and shortly after she'd fell into comfortable routine.

Tracking the money transferred to Tempest's hidden account had been harder than she expected, but Felicity liked a good challenge. After digging some more in Tempest's files she had discovered that the company purchased a warehouse in Starling City in 2011. It had been a white light in a tunnel of dead ends she needed to feel that they were finally getting somewhere. She'd found an address and gave it to Mr. Steele which she'd regretted later when he disappeared without a trace.

In those circumstances Moira Queen had had to take over his CEO position until the FBI would find him and bring him back home. Felicity had had this weird feeling in the pit of her stomach that somehow Mrs. Queen was involved in her husband's disappearance. He would probably still be with them if he hadn't been sneaking around the warehouse bought by money coming from Moira Queen's lost transaction.

Felicity had felt guilty. John had tried to reason with her, but her stubbornness didn't let her listen. She'd buried herself in work and she chased every lead that could help her find her boss.

* * *

Seeing Oliver again came faster than she expected.

One night, after a particularly long day at the office she had found him in his Vigilante outfit bleeding out in her car. To say that she had been surprised would be an understatement. He'd passed out on her before she could get anything out of him and she had panicked, thinking that he might be dead. The thought that she could never have a chance to talk to him again, to never feel his touch on her skin and that he wouldn't tell her if he really was sincere that night had forced her to act. She'd called John being on the edge of hysteria and he told her what to do. She had been cursing the whole way to the abandoned factory in the Glades because Oliver was in need of a hospital - not a steel worker. She'd understood John's request when he helped her drag Oliver's heavy body to the basement that in reality had been the Vigilante's base of operations.

Oliver had flat lined twice that night, a bullet wound almost taking his life and she had never been so scared before. She'd realized then how dangerous his life really was. How easily he could die and she wouldn't even have a chance to tell him that he had been forgiven.

While he slept, she'd updated his computer system because it was archaic. It'd looked like it was from the 80's and not the good part of the 80's, like Madonna and leg warmers. _Seriously_ , older than any system she ever had her hands on. Just looking at it had made her soul hurt.

Oliver had woken up and the look on his face told her everything. It hadn't been the first time he was that close to death. And it had made her angry because she was so worried about him and he'd brushed it off like it was another day at the office.

"If you want me to move passed what happened between us I would suggest that you stay alive for that because a dead body can't exactly tell me about the island," she had told him angrily, putting on her coat at the same time. She would have to burn it or something because she couldn't stop thinking about his blood staining the material. She would never wear it again that was for sure.

"Does that mean that you're in?" he'd asked her, pulling the grey blanket around himself.

She'd turned to him quickly, enjoying the sight of his naked chest for a moment and then she'd shook her head because it wasn't the time. Especially when he'd been dying no less than half an hour before.

Was she joining John and Oliver's little task force? No. She wasn't trained like they were and she couldn't be responsible for someone's death. But she could offer her temporary help. She could do what she did best: hack. Technical support was the only thing she could help them with.

"I want to find Mr. Steele. This - helping you, seems like a good way to start. You're more effective than the police. But I won't help you kill people," she'd told him truthfully because she didn't see a point in lying. If they wanted to do this, they would have to be honest with each other. Trust each other.

"I haven't killed anyone since that night at the docks. I'm trying another way," he'd admitted slowly. It seemed that her words hadn't offended him because he was looking at her with an open gaze, showing her that this was important to him - trying to be better.

For a moment there she'd been just watching him, visibly surprised by his change. It poked at her mind that in some parts she had been responsible for that. And that he'd been trying for her.

She'd cleared her throat when she didn't know how to respond. Again he had managed to astonish her. "I'm going to meet you here tomorrow after work. Bring coffee." She'd climbed up the steel stairs and then paused in her track, turning slightly to him, "And Oliver?" He'd looked up at her. "Try not to die while I'm gone."

And that's how their partnership had really started.

* * *

There were days when she wanted to quit. There were days when they argued about the best way to handle the situation. There were days when she'd almost died again, but Oliver had kept his promise and every time he was there to save her life. There were days when Oliver wanted to give up because the burden of what he did was getting too heavy to carry by himself; when the Dark Archer had showed up and tried to destroy everything he worked for. But she had been there with John every time to pick him up and help him believe again.

There were days when Oliver's team almost fell apart, like this one particular time when he'd chosen another mission before catching John's brother's murderer. That time Felicity had actually thought that it was over because she couldn't choose between her best friend and the man she had feelings for. With time her temporary status on the team had turned into permanent and they couldn't do anything without her. It wouldn't be the same anyway.

And there were better days when she'd convinced Oliver to help other people too. To expand their work from dealing with the one percent of Starling City and actually make a difference. They'd gained a new ally - Detective Quentin Lance, who decided to help them save the city if he couldn't do anything to stop the Vigilante. It hadn't been that hard to convince him when he'd seen that the Vigilante tried to do things differently. Of course he didn't know his true identity. The killing had stopped and the crime level in the Glades had dropped thanks to their activities.

One day she'd decided to ask Oliver about the island and he told her what he could. He told her about his father, about the promise he'd made to him that he would do anything to stop the corrupt people from destroying the city. That he would make the Bratva better, that he would change everything his father had done wrong. She understood him better after that and the mysterious Oliver Queen became just Oliver - her partner and more important, her friend.

Then the touching started. Nothing extraordinary - just a hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly to reassure her when their mission had gone south. His hand on her lower back when he was walking her to her car after a long night. The way he hovered over her when she was explaining something particularly difficult. His touch grounded her on the bad days making her feel better. It pulled her back to him telling her that it was okay to get past what had happened between them and start fresh. It made their relationship stronger, more honest and she knew that she could count on him. It came slowly when he was opening up to her, gaining her trust and this time it didn't feel like things were happening to fast. It felt perfect and honest and Felicity felt safe knowing that this time she could trust herself with this. That she wouldn't burn up in flames.

She'd let him in too. He knew her probably better than she knew herself. It was reassuring; that despite what happened before they could get past that and with time they grew stronger. It was a leap of faith she took after she had joined his crusade and she was glad that it didn't turn out as a mistake like the last time.

* * *

With their strengthened relationship came a more effective working relationship and they had been able to find Mr. Steele.

Felicity had been right when she felt that Mrs. Queen was involved in his disappearance. It'd turned out that her money was transferred to a deposit on one of Malcolm Merlyn's accounts and that led them to Blüdhaven where Mr. Steele had been held captive. He'd come back home safe, but the knowledge that his wife was responsible for his abduction was too much for him. Felicity knew that in some way Moira was trying to protect him from the Triad because he had been sniffing where they didn't want him, but kidnapping should be her last resort. She could have kept him safe in other ways.

Then they had gotten a lead on the Undertaking.

Oliver decided to threaten his mother to get the truth out of her once and for all. He asked John to pose as the Vigilante when he would be the leverage against her. Surprisingly his plan worked and Moira told them everything they needed to know to make the puzzle pieces finally fit. Felicity's suspicions about the Undertaking had been right; she just hadn't imagined how terrifying the Triad's plan to destroy the Bratva really was.

They wanted to create an earthquake in the Glades with a special Markov Device that could create seismic infringements. Money transferred to Tempest was sponsoring the project and QC's subsidiary Unidac was building the device. When the quake would hit everything would lead to the Queen Family and the evidence China White was trying to get would bury them alive. Everyone would learn that they were Bratva leaders and that they destroyed half the city, killing thousands of people.

The Bratva's reign in Starling City would end and the Triad would gain the power. It was a scenario they couldn't let happen. Too many lives were at stake. They needed to stop this before it was too late.

* * *

 

They couldn't see the obstacles that would come their way.

First, of all the things that could have gone wrong Tommy had been the problem. He'd found out about Oliver's secret and he hadn't taken it well which was surprising to Felicity, knowing that he was okay with Oliver leading the Bratva, but being the Vigilante was crossing lines for him. She'd witnessed some epic fights between them, but Tommy had never said a word to anyone and that made Felicity think that he didn't actually hate his best friend like he was claiming to. He was just angry and Felicity knew that feeling, she could understand him. The situation between Oliver and Tommy had taken a turn south even more when they told him about his father's plans. Of course, he hadn't believed them. He knew that his father was a bad man, but standing behind something like that? That couldn't be true. That had pushed them apart even more.

Then Felicity had found herself powerless in the face of technology for the first time in her life. She couldn't get inside Merlyn Global's mainframe to hack Malcolm Merlyn's personal files and they had to do something they hadn't done before.

Felicity would have to hack the files from the inside.

It was harder than she'd thought it would be and she was almost caught, but John showed up in the last second to help her get out of there. What she'd found on his files was a game changer. Something she would never have figure out herself.

Malcolm Merlyn was not only the Magician but also the Dark Archer _and_ an actual leader of the Chinese Triad. And the Undertaking was supposed to happen in the next few days.

They really weren't prepared for that.

* * *

In the end, they had come out as the winners, but the price they had to pay was bigger than they could have ever imagined.

They managed to find the place where the device was hidden thanks to Oliver who remembered one significant place in the Glades. The place where Rebecca Merlyn - Malcolm Merlyn's wife - had been executed by a rogue Bratva member. Everything had made so much more sense then. Merlyn's obsession to destroy the Bratva was not driven by the need for power, but by revenge. He didn't care that it wasn't really the Queen Family's fault, that one man's actions didn't mean that the whole organization was responsible. He blamed them and he wanted them to pay. Destroying the Bratva seemed like the best way to do that.

The guilt had finally caught up with Moira Queen and she held a press conference in the Mansion to warn people living in the Glades about the Undertaking before it was too late. She had been arrested after that.

Felicity managed to disarm the device before it created seismic infringements with the help of Detective Lance. But she wasn't prepared for a second device located on the other side of the Glades. Merlyn had a backup plan and they didn't make it in time to stop it. The east side of the Glades was destroyed by the earthquake and she couldn't do anything but watch. The Foundry was located in that part, but luckily for her it stayed strong. But she was trapped in the basement and she couldn't do anything to help her friends.

John had been shot while fighting with Merlyn and she could hear his labored breaths. She prayed for him to stay alive. The terror of losing him was choking her, filling her head with images of his dead body. Oliver was still fighting with Malcolm Merlyn on a rooftop of Merlyn Global and by the sound of his heavy breathing she could tell that he was hurt. She was terrified that she would lose him too.

And then she'd heard Oliver screaming Tommy's name and she was frozen in place, images of what could have happened flashing in front of her eyes. She had to listen as Oliver pleaded with Tommy to stay alive and she had never heard him so terrified before.

Felicity sat in front of her computer in the Foundry, unable to do anything. The sounds of screaming, fighting and pain filling her senses and she wondered how everything could have gone so wrong.

* * *

**_Ten days later_ **

* * *

She was sitting on her couch, watching news about the tragedy in the Glades with a tub of mint chip in hand when she heard a knock on her door. She knew who it was; she didn't have to think for too long to know that Oliver was on the other side.

She got up from the couch and padded slowly to the door, opening it without hesitation and finding Oliver behind it just as she suspected. He looked tired, shadows under his eyes like he hadn't slept for a few days, but she knew it was more than that. She could see the self-blame seeping into his features, not letting him go. Dragging him under and destroying her and John's hard work to help him connect with his humanity again.

Ten days ago the Glades had fell and he blamed himself for all of this. They all did.

The Bratva had stayed intact thanks to his mother's confession that the Triad was behind the earthquake and that she had helped them because Malcolm Merlyn threatened her family. No one had connected the Bratva with their plan and somehow Felicity felt like it was a small victory even when they lost so much. There had been 458 people found dead in the earthquake and the number was still increasing. Felicity felt each one of them weighting on her heart because they would have been alive if she had found the second device sooner.

"Hi," Oliver said quietly with his hands shoved inside his jeans pockets and he looked like he wasn't sure if she wanted to see him. He couldn't be more wrong.

"Hi," she said back. "How's Tommy?" She knew he'd come over straight from the hospital because she could still smell its smell clinging to his grey henley.

When Tommy showed up on the rooftop that night he'd finally seen the real side of his father. He pleaded with him to stop this before it was too late, but his father had already made up his mind. He thought his son was weak and he'd treated him like he treated every man he considered weak. He'd plunged a sword into his chest, leaving him to die.

Tommy was alive, but his recovery would be long and hard. Luckily, Oliver and Thea would be with him for the whole time.

"He's better. He woke up this morning and actually said a full sentence without choking, so I think that's progress."

"Good." Felicity's head nodded and there was an awkward pause between them for a moment. "Uh, come inside," she said finally when he kept standing there unmoving.

He stepped inside and followed her over to the couch. Felicity quickly switched the channel to something other than news because she was sure he didn't want to hear about the preparation for his mother's trial. He had to hear that everywhere, all the time. His eyes flashed with gratefulness when he saw her doing that, but it disappeared quickly when he sat on the couch too fast and hissed when the stitches on his wound strained.

She'd almost lost him again. Malcolm Merlyn had him in a choke hold and Oliver didn't have the strength to free himself. In order to stop Merlyn he'd plunged the arrow through his own chest and stabbed him in the heart. He'd killed him, but he almost killed himself too. And she didn't know how to feel about that. He'd been ready to sacrifice himself so easily that she was scared that one day he would just never come back to her again. Her feelings for him were stronger after these five months they had got to know each other and she didn't even know where they were standing right now.

"I visited John too," he said, catching her attention.

John hadn't been injured badly, but he still had to stay and rest in his apartment. She wanted to stop by later with dinner to brighten his mood.

Oliver's mouth twitched slightly when he caught the sight of the half eaten tub of ice cream. "He asked me to tell you to slow down with the ice cream if you still want to fit on your favorite loveseat in his apartment."

She scoffed, pretending to be offended and she took a hold of the tub again, shoving a big spoon of mint chip inside her mouth. Hearing him chuckling under his breath made the warmth tingle low inside her belly.

She'd missed this. His smile and laugh and his sparkling eyes. She knew that now, after everything that had happened it wouldn't be easy to bring back the lightness in him, but she was glad that he at least gave her hope that he didn't lose himself in the darkness completely. She was glad that she still could make him smile even for a short moment.

He sighed heavily locking his eyes on the screen before them, but she knew that he wasn't really focused on it. He was falling into his thoughts again. His back was leaning against the couch making their shoulders brush and she dared to ask in a small voice, "What happens now?" She felt him tense for a moment, but then he relaxed again, his thumb and forefinger were rubbing together showing his only sign of distress.

"I don't know." His voice was broken and she knew how much it cost him to let his walls down in front of her like that. "I don't know what to do now," he admitted and her hand slowly reached for his, stopping his nervous movement. He took in a deep breath, squeezing her fingers lightly, silently thanking her for being there for him. "I will have to focus on the Bratva right now. Anatoly called, he wants to come to Starling City and see the destruction himself. We'll have to set some ground rules - new rules because this can't happen again."

Moira's betrayal and the amount of spies Oliver had in his organization were a game changer. The Bratva had to change their tactics to stay strong and Felicity was afraid that it meant that they would have to be more ruthless to stop potential future attacks and show everyone that they weren't weak. That the Bratva still had power and no one could change that.

"I have to salvage the Queen Consolidated reputation before my company bankrupts. People won't trust us anymore since they know that Unidac built the Markov Device. I need to change that," he sounded empty like everything was too much for him right now, like all he really needed was a break far away from here to process what had happened and regenerate to feel ready for what he would have to do. "I'll have to put down the hood for some time. I'm needed as Oliver Queen, not the Vigilante."

Felicity looked up at him, her eyes full of concern. She just wanted to help him. To take some of this burden from his shoulders so he could breathe. He went through so much and life was still throwing obstacles his way. He would never find peace this way. "You'll have a lot going on in the next few months. Don't you want to take a break for some time? To just... I don't know - breathe for a moment? To escape from this?" she asked him, showing what she wanted for him. That she wanted to help in any way she could to make it easier somehow.

His head turned to look at her and the warmth he had in his eyes showed her how grateful he was to have someone like her in his life. And she wanted to tell him that he didn't need to feel like he owed her anything, that she would be here with him no matter what. But he was faster, turning his body to face her fully and the hand she was holding moved, dragging her own with his and he stopped only when it was on his lap where he could hold it between his two hands. Now he was the one wanting her to understand something, but she didn't know what.

"I want to take a break," he said slowly like he wanted her to listen to his every word. "And I feel that I can do that only when I'm with you. So I was thinking." He paused for a second and she held her breath not knowing where this was going. "Friday, next week, I'm taking you out for dinner. That's the only way I can forget about everything else."

Felicity's eyes blinked slowly at him because she wasn't expecting that. It wasn't the best time to move past friendship between them, with the city in pieces and so many things to do. Her eyes had to show him what she was thinking because he was gazing at her stubbornly in the next second, like he was telling her that the timing was never good.

And he was right, there always was something in the way and she had a feeling that it wouldn't change anytime soon. But she had to at least try to show him that he didn't need to feel like they had to do this right now. They had time and their friendship was strong. This could wait.

Felicity swallowed hard, looking at his face and she had a burning question she needed him to answer. "What makes you so sure that I still want to go on a date with you? Maybe I'm comfortable with what we have now."

Oh, she wanted more believe her. She hadn't forgotten how it felt to have his hands on her and her lips under his. Call her crazy, but she just had this need to... tease him a little. To prove that he really wanted that, that it wasn't because of everything that happened and that if it would go bad it wouldn't erase the friendship they worked so hard for.

"I'm sure because _this_ tells me everything," he said looking her in the eyes and his thumb moved in a gentle caress across her knuckles then moved forward to draw a pattern on her wrist. She shivered and his lips turned into a grin and she could swear that he was smug about it. "Every time I touch you, you respond to me like that and when you realize I noticed, you blush." Her face heated without her permission and his grin turned self-satisfied. "Just like that."

All of a sudden Felicity got really hot. Did he have to do that? Yes, she was aware of how she was reacting to him, but he didn't have to tell her that he knew every single time when she had heated thoughts about him. Because that would mean... that he started touching her so much because he wanted her to react like that. He did that on purpose!

That... well, she didn't think about _that_.

Damn him.

He was still grinning when she looked back at him and she wanted to scoff at the smugness on his face, but she let him have this moment as long as he was smiling at her like that.

"And I won't believe that it's just friendship to you, because friends don't kiss like that." Her face flushed even more when she remembered their heavy make out session and the kiss in the gazebo. Friends definitely didn't kiss like _that._ "And don't feel the things I feel right now just looking at you." His face wasn't smug anymore and she saw how serious he was about that. His face was relaxed and he was looking at her with tenderness and something she couldn't quite place.

Her stomach flipped and - yeah, she _definitely_ felt that too.

She breathed out heavily, pretending annoyance, like she was agreeing with him only because she was forced. "Okay, next week's a date. Don't forget that I'm allergic to nuts."

His eyes sparkled at her again and she knew that he was amused by her bad acting skills. "I wouldn't dare."

She sagged against the couch turning her head back to TV and he followed suit. Her head hesitantly leaned against his shoulder and she smiled lightly when he moved his arm to let her cuddle into his chest. When she found a comfortable position his chin rested on top of her head and they stayed like that, breathing slowly and taking comfort from each other.

There was a long road ahead of them, full of bumps, turns and obstacles. They could part at some point or they could grow even stronger. Nothing was written in stone. But as long as they were together, as long as they kept fighting for the city, for their families, but more importantly - for themselves, no one could break the bond that formed between them on the very first day. Felicity felt that no matter what would happen next, they would handle it the best way they could.

Together.

**-END-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you - again - for reading! I hope that you aren't disappointed with this part.  
> The surprise I told you about the last time? It's gonna be posted on Sunday/Monday/Tuesday and I'm pretty sure that you are going to love it. This story is rated M after all... :D Stay tuned, I can't wait! *excited*  
> Right now I'm working on another story, something I was thinking about for a long time and I want to do it right. My only problem is that I'm not sure if I should write it as a short story like this one or do it as a multi-chapter. The storyline is really long so I think it's going to be a multi-chapter thing. Would you like to know what I'm going to write next? :)  
> As usual, my twitter to chat with me: @angelica_fit  
> Or follow me on tumblr: seetheskyaboveus  
> Please, leave a comment! It's the last part after all and I would like to know your overall opinion about this story, your favorite moments, if there was something you didn't like, which parts were a surprise to you or something that made you think "I want more!". (Kudos and bookmarks are welcome too) :)  
> I love you and I'll see you when the surprise gets here!


	6. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Arrow, everything belongs to its rightful owners. However the idea for this story is mine.  
> Soundtrack: http://8tracks.com/seetheskyaboveus/oblivion-is-calling-out-your-name-soundtrack  
> A/N: Hello again!  
> So this is my surprise for you guys - an Epilog! Yeah! You want a hint what this is about? Two words: Pure smut. Did I get your attention? :D  
> This is the first time I wrote a sex scene so I hope it's not bad and that you'll enjoy it just as much as I enjoyed writing it lol. :)  
> Thank you, SweetMe86 for editing this part!  
> This Epilog is written for a friend from twitter - Lostritaurie. I promised her a lot of smut and now here it is so you should thank her. :D  
> P.S. Please, read the ending notes if you want to know about my next story!  
> Enjoy!

**Epilogue**

**_Three months later_ **

* * *

Felicity Smoak was in heaven.

Her own personal heaven otherwise known as Oliver Queen, who at that exact moment was sucking a giant hickey on the juncture of her neck and shoulder, causing tingles of pleasure to shoot through her body. She could feel her nipples tighten painfully, rubbing against the satin material of her bra with every ragged breath she took when his teeth nipped at the sensitive flesh he was working on so thoroughly.

Or maybe she was in hell.

Oliver could easily be a devil sent to make her succumb to the temptation. The things his mouth was doing to her, how his touch was making her see stars, definitely belonged more to hell than heaven. But she wasn't complaining. Especially when his lips moved up her neck, his stubble scraping her sensitive skin, to mold back with hers. After taking her breath away with his kiss, he sucked her lower lip into his mouth, biting on it and sending another wave of pleasure rolling through her and she could feel it all the way down to her toes.

Oh, she _definitely_ wasn't complaining.

It had been too long since she had let herself get lost in him like that. The last time they had ended up in this kind of make out session had been eight months ago when he'd visited her before the Queen Family Annual Christmas Gala he'd invited her to. Now, Felicity was so turned on by him and what he was doing to her that she wanted to kick her own ass for coming up with the idea to take things slow with him. Because things had been progressing really, _really_ slow.

After their first date reality had knocked on their doors and they had to get back to deal with the fallout of the Undertaking. Anatoly Knyazev had come to Starling City to put the American branch of the Bratva back in business and he'd worked with Oliver to make it better, to make it stronger. Queen Consolidated had taken a big blow on the stock market when their subsidiary Unidac created the Markov Device and Oliver had to fight for the rights to his shares in the company, otherwise it would have been sold to the highest bidder.

Their lives had been pretty busy for the last three months, but they had managed to go on nine dates including the one they had just gotten back from. And at this point he was driving her _crazy_. His skilled tongue and mouth weren't helping her stick to her rule.

She imagined what _else_ he could do with that mouth of his.

She whimpered when he pressed her fully against her front door, his massive body covering hers like a thick blanket and her hips moved forward on instinct to meet with his. He groaned into her mouth, rocking against her and creating the delicious friction she needed to feel for so long. When his hips moved again, making the thrill zing down straight to her core, something told her it was his revenge - that he took quiet pleasure from - for that time after their official first date.

He'd taken her to this nice and romantic Italian restaurant where they had spent their time talking and flirting and it had been so easy to do with him. She could tell it was like that because they had spent the last five months getting to know each other, strengthening the relationship between them after she had learned everything he was hiding from her. Becoming great friends that could trust and lean on each other when the hard times had came. All the time they had spent on doing everything to stop the Undertaking showed her that the leap of faith she took with him had been the best choice she'd made in a long time and she still hadn't regretted it even for a second.

But it didn't mean that she would jump him on the first occasion she got. She'd wanted this to work and that meant taking things slow was the best choice for them, considering the fact that every time he'd touched her she was too close to kissing him senseless like the two lucky times she had.

Well, actually _he_  had been the one who attacked her mouth on those occasions, but it was _so_ not the point.

After the date, he'd driven her home and like a perfect gentleman he'd walked her to her door. They'd engaged in small talk to fill the space between them with something other than the tension she'd felt crackling since the moment they had left his car and Felicity had been sure then, that the night could end in only one way. With her pressed up tightly against his body while she would let him have his way with her. And it would have totally gone against her rule to take things slow.

When he had leaned in to kiss her goodnight and the images of him pressing her to her front door while he kissed her senseless had filled her mind, she had panicked and quickly pecked him on his stubbled cheek, disappearing behind the door where he couldn't reach her. She would never forget the expression on his face she had caught right before the door had closed. That sexy little smirk he'd given her with his blue eyes winking at her like he was telling her that two could play this game.

And after three months it looked like he was winning.

He'd played along with her, pretending to respect the boundaries she'd put between them, but in reality he'd been like a predator stalking his prey. His hand would never leave her side when they were in the same room, resting on her shoulder, caressing the skin on the back of her hand or simply resting on her lower back like he was claiming her somehow. And it would be okay if she didn't know he'd been doing it on purpose. He'd been trying to break her, see how long she would drag this out before she would give in to the need she felt running deep inside her.

Every time he'd touched her, every time he kissed her chastely on her cheek, her temple. Every time his heated gaze had landed on her, showing her things he would do to her if she would just let him, she had been close to throwing caution to the wind and letting him do whatever he pleased with her. Yeah, he had made her _that_ desperate.

And now look at her. Her taking things slow rule had come back to bite her in the ass a week before on their eight date when she couldn't take it anymore because she'd just needed to feel his lips on hers and taste the wine they had drunk a couple of minutes earlier.

Now she'd been making out with him on her front porch for the last ten minutes like a horny teenager that hadn't had sex for such _a long_ time. God, she needed him _so much_. Screw the rules; they were made to be broken anyway.

Oliver trailed his lips down her jaw again until they reached her ear. He bit on her earlobe gently causing her to arch into him even more and the fingers that gripped his short hair moved to scrape across his scalp, pulling a growl from him.

"I should go," he said, his voice so low and hoarse that she clung to him harder when his words got past the haze in her brain.

Now he wanted to go? When he finally had her in his arms so willing?

His lips parted from her ear and she felt as they stretched into a small smirk. She knew then that he was only trying to torture her more. And she would have none of that.

She gripped his Henley, pulling him so close that her breasts were completely pressed to his chest and he could feel what he was doing to her. "You should stay."

She felt his hot breath on her ear when he realized what she'd meant and they were both breathing hard, holding onto each other like their lives depended on it. She felt him moving back slightly so he could look at her face and she whimpered at the loss of contact with his lips. She looked up at him, their eyes meeting in the soft glow of the street lamp and the way he looked at her left her gasping. His eyes were blown wide and so dark that she almost couldn't see their natural color. His hand moved from her waist to cup her cheek and she leaned into his hold, her eyes fluttering a little.

Felicity knew they had reached their tipping points. There was no going back now and honestly she didn't even want that. She wanted him, _badly_. And if he would reject her now just to torture her some more, she didn't know what she would do about that.

"Are you sure?" it was all he asked, but his eyes locked with hers told her everything he was keeping for himself.

_I don't want you to regret this later. We can wait longer. I want it, but I don't want you to feel pressured into anything._

She smiled sweetly at him and her head tipped to the side so she could kiss his palm, showing him her gratitude for his caring. But she wanted him and she had waited long enough. She couldn't be more ready than she was right now.

She reached for him, her hands locking behind his neck and she crushed her lips against his, giving him an idea of how sure she was about this.

Oliver's hands moved to cradle her face and his mouth sealed to hers so intensely that she lost her breath for a moment. His tongue swept forward and she gave access without a thought. She moaned against his lips, her nails raking down his back as he hauled her from the door and she crashed into his chest again. They were pressed so close together that she could feel the hard muscles of his torso and back flexing under her touch.

Her hand snaked behind her, reaching for the door handle and she opened the door - something she had been unable to do for the past ten minutes.

She didn't know if she'd pulled him with her or if he'd pushed her inside, but somehow they were in her townhouse, the door shutting behind them loudly. In an instant she found herself pressed against it, his mouth hungrily latched onto hers as their lips met again. He sucked her lower lip into his mouth, teeth biting down and sending waves of desire straight to her core. His kisses left her lightheaded and she could feel how addicted she was getting to them.

His hands moved down her back, making her shiver and press her hips tighter to his. His hands kneaded her dress covered ass for a moment and then landed on the bare skin of her thighs. Her mouth broke away from his, letting a moan escape her lips when she felt his hot calloused fingers on her skin. His touch branded her and felt _so_ good, but she needed more to feed the flame that was threatening to escape from her body.

His hands moved to the back of her thighs and before she knew what he was doing he lifted her up easily and she squeaked, surprised at his move. He grinned at her devilishly, his dimples showing and she knew he did that on purpose. Her eyes narrowed at him, the need to show him that she could play his game as well was so strong that she smirked down at him with a challenge written in her eyes.

A desperate growl was torn from his throat when her legs moved, locking on his lower back and not letting him move away from her. Her red dress had ridden up and now she was so close to him, separated only by his jeans and the thin material of her panties. She pressed her hips down on his, rolling them at the end and they both moaned at the contact. Her satisfaction climbed higher when even through his jeans she could feel the hardness of his cock rubbing up against her.

Now he would know to not underestimate her if he wanted to last longer than a couple of minutes.

It was her turn to moan when his teeth nipped at the sensitive flesh along her jaw and she sighed as his mouth found hers again for a brief moment. He pulled away slightly, their lips brushing against each other with every uneven breath they took.

"As fun as it would be to see who can break who first, I want to make you feel good because you deserve nothing less. Will you let me?" he murmured against her lips and the need she heard in his voice was enough to open her eyes.

She was struck by the weight of the emotions she found in his gaze, the way he struggled to express it, show her what he felt. That every touch he laid on her body, every kiss he decorated her skin with was important to him. That it was more than sex between them. It was connecting on a totally different level and when they crossed that line there was no going back. He wouldn't let her go, not anymore.

She would belong with him.

Felicity gazed at Oliver with soft eyes and a warm smile. She hoped that her expression showed him that she shared his feelings about this moment. It was more to her as well and everything she did to him held a meaning bigger than she was ready to admit yet. But she wasn't afraid to show it.

The hand that wasn't hooked behind his neck reached up to cup his cheek and for a moment she just held him like that. Simply watching him and telling him everything she felt without words, waiting for him to understand. Then she tilted her head up and placed a tentative kiss to his lips, breathing him in. She felt content in his arms and it would be alright if they stayed just liked that without moving further, but she knew that both of them needed to feel more and right now this felt like the best way to show the feelings they had for each other.

She nodded against him, her teeth biting on her lower lip when the question she wanted to ask him for a long time popped inside her head. His brow lifted; his face full of curiosity and she knew he saw the impish glint in her eyes. When his head tilted to the side and he looked like he wanted to ask what was going on inside her head, she grinned at him because he looked so adorable with this little pout on his face.

Her other hand joined the one behind his neck and she was looking down at him, the grin not leaving her lips. "You can go back to making me feel good as soon as you tell me why did you kiss me that night as the Vigilante."

Oliver groaned and his head fell forward, his forehead leaning against her collarbone. "Have you seen yourself in that dress?" he asked against her skin and when he scraped his teeth across her collarbone, she jumped in his arms, shivering. He puffed out a breathy chuckle at her reaction and it was so deep that she would have gone weak in her knees if he hadn't been holding her already. "All I could think about was ripping it off and having my way with you. Just like I want to right now." The tone of his voice was dangerous, full of promise and when he sucked and licked little bites up the column of her throat she whimpered at the thought that he was still holding her against the door instead of doing the things he told her.

"Then what are you waiting for?" she asked breathlessly, her voice quiet but full of challenge.

A feral growl escaped his mouth and he moved so quickly that for a second she didn't know what was happening. Then his hands fell to her ass, securing her against him as he pivoted to the side, heading straight to her bedroom like a man on a mission.

Her shoes fell from her feet with a loud thud when her legs tightened behind his back and she gasped when one of his hands fell back on her right thigh just to slip under the bunched material of her dress. Her body clung to him tightly when the hand holding her to him moved up to catch the little zipper of her dress and he pulled it down without finesse.

When the need to touch him became too much, her hands slipped under his Henley to find the warm skin beneath her fingers. She smiled with satisfaction that after all this time of admiring his hard and beautiful body from afar she could finally put her hands on him and mark him as hers. She did just that, one of her hands running up his back as the other traced over his healed scars. A shudder ran through his body when her fingers on his back were driving him crazy and she actually made him moan.

Her satisfaction didn't last long because the next moment their trip to her bedroom had an unexpected stop just a couple of feet from their destination when his control finally snapped. He slammed her back against the wall, not enough to hurt her but enough to make her arch into him when the pure pleasure shot through her body.

Oh, that was so _hot_. Him losing control like that was her new favorite thing about him on her long list she couldn't help but keep in her mind when he did something like that.

In the next moment both of his hands were under her dress, moving up her body like he wanted to memorize every curve and dip he found under his touch. He stopped on her ass, his hands kneading and squeezing lightly through the thin material of her underwear then moving upwards and taking the dress with him. His thumbs grazed the sides of her bra covered breasts and she felt this feral need to feel his hands on the bare skin of her breasts.

The moment her dress finally fell to the floor, his heavier and more solid touch left her panting above him. She was squirming in need and she didn't know what it was that she needed so desperately. She just needed _more_.

He had to see it on her face because he caught her lips for another kiss, this one more insistent and she felt her stomach flip when his tongue snaked past her lips to curl around hers. She could feel his hunger for her and she gave as much as she could, showing him that she was hungry for him as well. When his tongue drew hers into his mouth she groaned loudly, her hips thrusting forward to seek any contact they could find. He pressed her harder against the wall, rolling his hips up and his hard length pressed against her core just the way she needed.

She gasped; her head falling against the wall as he continued to move like that, making the flames low in her belly grow. When he stopped her eyes snapped open, her plea for him to continue on the tip of her tongue, but then she saw his face.

He was watching her with this dangerous look of his and there was an intensity about him that made her shudder in anticipation. When the hand at her neck moved down her spine, causing tingles of pleasure to shoot through her, she knew then what he wanted to do next. Oh, God, he would kill her before they even get to the bedroom. She moaned loudly and he just grinned at her with a wicked glint in his eyes which told her that she let her mouth work without connecting with her brain again.

Oliver's hands dipped lower, his fingers sinking into her hipbones and drawing small circles, driving her mad. At the same time his mouth worked on her neck, kissing, biting, sucking and licking, trying to distract her from his fingers sliding on the warm skin of her inner thigh and slipping beneath the elastic band of her panties, teasing her skin but not moving further.

She sighed into his neck, her hand found its way into his hair, pulling at it gently and eliciting a groan from him. She clung to his shoulders, her lips moving over his cheek, jaw and throat, nipping at it to drive him as crazy as he drove her. Then their gazes met and his finger slipped inside her panties to rub against her outer lips, testing her reaction.

She shuddered, her mouth falling open and a silent moan escaped her. He held her gaze when his finger dove between her slick folds and found her clit. His pupils dilated even further when he felt how wet she was for him. His other hand was holding her tightly by her hip, securing her against the wall while he started working on her with his talented fingers.

He rolled his finger around the sensitive little nub in a manner that made her moan his name. Her hips bucked when he moved up and down her slick slit, massaging her. She could feel the low tug in her belly growing even more, the heat spreading through her body. A blush was sneaking up her chest, her breaths becoming shorter and heavier as everything focused on him and what he was making her feel.

His mouth found hers, not letting her go when his forefinger swept through her folds to sink into her hot and wet center. She keened into him, her eyes falling shut tightly in ecstasy and he swallowed her noise, holding her to him even tighter. His thumb began to circle her clit, his finger stroking her all the time and her hips started to move against his hand like they had their own mind.

Somehow he managed to hold her against the wall only with his hips when his other hand moved up her chest, giving her additional stimulation. His hand stopped moving only when it reached her left breast still hidden behind her bra. When he grasped it gently and began to caress and knead it through the fabric, her lips broke away from his, her head rolling back at the sensation.

Felicity knew she was close. Waves of pleasure were rolling through her body and she knew that it wouldn't take much to send her into oblivion. His breath was sweeping across the skin on her chest as he kept teasing her with his mouth, his hand didn't stop massaging her breast and then a second finger entered her, causing a breathy little noise to escape from her lips.

Her walls clenched around his fingers that were curling lazily inside her and then he hit the spot that caused her to grind against his hand harder. All she could do was shut her eyes tightly, her gasp falling on his face. Then his fingers began to move faster, pumping in and out of her, curling deeper and pressing harder. His thumb flicked against her clit one more time and he brought Felicity to the very edge.

She cried out in ecstasy, her body went rigid and his name was torn from her lips with a shout. He didn't stop moving his fingers inside her, prolonging her orgasm and she felt like she couldn't take more. Then it was over and her body was so blissfully relaxed that she melted into his arms, her heart hammering inside her chest. Her breathing labored, but she didn't mind. Felicity smiled and sighed slowly. This had been the most intense orgasm she'd had in a long time. Definitely the best one.

She felt Oliver's hands on her waist, moving to her back and enveloping her inside his arms. She moved closer to him, hugging him like her life depended on it and she pressed her lips to the spot under his jaw. She decorated his face with little kisses and when her lips finally found his again she sighed into him, content. His mouth opened slowly to her and caught her lower lip between his, nibbling gently at it.

This kiss was slow and full of feelings she wanted to show him. The desperate need to feel him disappeared and something else stepped in its place. Something tender and delicate and loving. Something that made him cup her face with affection, his hand sliding into her blonde tresses, fingers stroking her neck and sending shivers down her spine, but a different kind than before. Shivers that reached deep inside her heart and made her warm and wanted. The way Oliver made her feel was something she had never experienced before. And she wasn't scared of that anymore.

They broke apart slowly, their foreheads pressed together and their noses brushing against each other. He gazed up at her with wonder, like he discovered something he had no idea about before and she wished she could know what was going on inside his head. Then he smiled at her, _really_ smiled. She had seen that smile only three times before and every time this smile adorned his face her heart clenched with the need to make it permanent.

She gave him a simple kiss and then smiled at him warmly. Her hands moved on his shoulders and she realized that he was still fully clothed while she was in only her undergarments. It wasn't really fair if you asked her. Her hands inched down his chest slowly and he observed her every move. Her eyes never left his and she gave him a warm smile as her fingers fisted in his Henley, dragging it up and over his head. It fell from her grasp and landed somewhere near the dress he took off of her earlier.

Her forefinger reached out to caress his collarbone, testing his reaction. But his eyes stayed on her, waiting to see what she would do next, granting her permission to explore him the way she had wanted to since the moment she had seen his naked chest for the first time. The rest of her fingers joined tracing softly over the lines and ridges of his shoulders and torso and then inched to his scars, moving against them gently.

His eyes fluttered shut and he sighed heavily like her touch was fixing his past and his demons, bringing him relief, peace. But she knew it was just temporary. Knowing Oliver like she did, she was sure that he would go back to reliving his past the moment something bad would happen. That's why she wanted to prolong this moment when he looked like nothing was wrong with him. She wanted to give him everything.

She leaned her head down and her lips trailed tenderly over the hollow of his neck. She left a kiss there, light as a feather and his arms flexed against her waist to pull her closer to him. His breath hitched when her lips moved lower, leaving a trail of kisses on her way. One of his hands tangled in her hair, seeking for something to hold onto. Tender kisses continued to fall over his shoulder and she stopped only when she reached his Bratva tattoo. She paid it the same attention she did to the rest of him, but this time she wanted to show him that she was accepting this part of his life. The Bratva didn't scare her anymore and their Captain was the best thing that ever happened to her.

Her lips moved then to the scar that made her join his crusade. Pouring her feelings into the kiss, she moved her mouth over the length of the scar, showing him how grateful she was that he survived that day. Her fingers moved to caress his cheek and his eyes opened, locking with hers. His gaze was full of gratitude and adoration and she felt like he was looking into the depths of her soul.

"Why don't they bother you, Felicity?" he asked so quietly that she almost didn't hear him.

Both of her hands moved to catch his face and he had to look at her, sensing her determination to tell him something, ''They don't bother me because I don't see them as something to be ashamed of. I see proof that you survived hell. I see proof that you are the strongest man I know. I see proof that you are alive and I'm so grateful for that because you're here with me right now.''

Her eyes danced over his and she swallowed hard when she felt her throat closing up from unshed tears. Her eyes watered and she blinked because she didn't want to cry right now. She couldn't believe that he could think something like a scar could stop her from loving him.

She froze when she realized what she just thought. And then she breathed out slowly.

She loved him. She really did.

Somewhere along these few months she had gotten to know him, he'd found his way into her heart and now when she finally admitted that to herself she couldn't stop this warm feeling from erupting deep inside her heart. But she couldn't tell him. Not yet and definitely not right now when he still couldn't believe that he deserved something good in his life.

If he'd noticed the change in her mood he didn't say anything. He just watched her, letting her words reach his heart and then he shook his head lightly like he couldn't believe that she was in his arms right now. That she really wanted him. She was about to show him that again, but Oliver leaned forward to capture her lips before she made her move.

His kiss was sweet and soft, his lips sliding over hers with gentleness he didn't show before. His tongue traced the seam of her lips, making her open for him eagerly so he could do more exploring inside her mouth. She sighed into his mouth when he made her brain go into overdrive. This felt different; they took their time with each other as he moved her from the wall and slowly made his way to her bedroom. He consumed her. She was lost and she didn't want to be found again. This was perfect.

She let her hands fall down to his chest again, her fingers spreading over his pecs, slowly dragging her nails over his skin and his pebbled nipples, taking pleasure in the way he growled low in his throat.

The moment he reached her bed his hands crept up her back to find the clasp of her bra and he unhooked it. His fingers moved over her arms to her shoulders and he slowly pulled her bra straps down, taking the bra away from her body leaving her upper half naked in front of him. The touch of the cool air in her room instantly made her nipples tighten even harder and when his hot gaze landed on her breasts she knew he was enjoying what he was seeing. She didn't feel self-conscious like the other times when she'd been naked in front of a man and she was grateful for that because it showed her yet again that what they were doing was right.

He unhooked her legs from around him and laid her on the bed, giving her a soft kiss on her lips. His hand trailed down and cupped her breast gently. Felicity gasped when his thumb flicked over the sensitive nipple, making her moan against his mouth as she arched into his hand, seeking for more. Then he moved away from her and she groaned at the loss of his touch.

Oliver toed off his shoes and took off his socks. She used the moment he was undressing to reach to the bedside table and to fish out a condom. She threw it on the bed beside her as he undid his belt, his jeans and then he was pulling them off his body in one fluid motion. All the moisture left her mouth when he didn't stop at that and his thumbs hooked into the waistband of his black boxer briefs and began to drag them down his hips.

She felt a flood of wetness coating her center when he stood before her completely naked and she could finally fully see him. The hard muscles of his chest and abdomen that moved with every breath he took; his strong thighs and calves she wanted to put her hands on. He really was built like a Greek god. Felicity couldn't believe that she had a naked Oliver Queen in her bedroom ready to ravish her. If she didn't know any better she would say that she was dreaming.

Her eyes moved to see him and he was _big_. Already fully erected, showing her just how aroused he was. She shifted on the bed, unable to drag her gaze away from him and she had to look like a kid in a candy store because he let out a low chuckle when he saw the way she was staring at him. Her toes curled in anticipation and she couldn't help when her tongue peaked between her lips, trying to wet her dry lips. His eyes zeroed in on her when she did that and he slowly made his way back to her, his moves deliberate and he looked like a predator, coming to get her. And she would gladly give herself to him.

She scooted across the bed to give him more space when he moved above her, his hands on either side of her head, holding his weight like he was scared that he would crush her. But she wanted to feel him, really feel him and her hands locked behind his back pulling his lower half down on her and cradling his hips between her thighs.

They both moaned at the feeling of him pressing against her hot center, her thin panties the only barrier between them. His body covering her felt warm, solid and she really realized how huge of a man he was. But it didn't intimidate her, it made her feel safe. Her hips fell open even wider as he rocked against her, a whimper catching between their lips when he kissed her hungrily. She felt the barest of pressure right where she needed it and the flame started to lick at her skin again.

Her breasts were pressed tightly against his chest, the feeling overwhelming. Her nails scratched lightly down his ribcage and she felt him shiver. Her fingers were caressing the burn marks on his lower back before they moved further south to grab his ass. She pushed him harder against her center with a squeeze and he groaned biting on her lips, his kisses becoming more urgent. His touch more deliberate like he was on the path to losing control. And she didn't want him to restrain himself with her. He could never hurt her anyway.

His mouth was kissing along her neck then, lips moving down, sucking on her collarbones and she knew that it would leave marks. Something told her that he was doing that on purpose. That he wanted to show everyone who would be close enough to see her neck that she was his. The thought sent tingles along her spine and then he was kissing his way down to the valley between her breasts.

He caressed the underside of her breast with his mouth and then nipped at it lightly, making her arch away from the bed, closer to his touch. His hand moved in circles across the swell of her right breast while his lips wrapped around the stiff peak of her left breast, sucking it into his mouth and swirling his tongue across the tip. He nibbled it between his teeth then and she gasped loudly, her breath catching, her hands grasping and pulling at his hair, seeking for something to hold onto while the desire overwhelmed her. He left her breathless, his mouth working on her breast while his fingers were rolling and pinching the other nipple between them.

She was twitching against him when the warmth sent jolts straight to her core, making her feel like she was flowing in space. Every place he touched on her body had her clinging to his hard biceps and sucking air through her teeth when she couldn't take more.

He released her nipple from between his lips with a soft pop and his head moved down her body, hands caressing her sides and lips sliding across her ribs, biting on them playfully. She moaned looking down at him and he just grinned at her and slid lower, his eyes never leaving hers. He moved across her belly, leaving kisses and little bites on her hipbone and repeated it on the other side. It was like he was trying to memorize her body, remember every move he made that caused her to writhe beneath him. And she was losing herself in him, in the sparks that skittered over her skin whenever he touched her.

His fingers hooked into the elastic band of her panties and her hips lifted, breath hitching in anticipation. He was watching her the entire time as he slowly dragged the panties down her thighs, his lips following right behind them on their way down. He spread her thighs gently and his lips landed on her sensitive skin, kissing her with adoration. She twitched when he moved up her thigh, her mouth falling open and she knew what he wanted to do to her.

She groaned, pushing his head away because it was too much. He was making her feel too much and she just needed him now because any second longer and she would explode. He could eat her out later, however many times he wanted, however long he wanted, but now he needed to get up here and have his way with her like he had promised.

"Next time," she panted, her eyes opening to see him looking up at her with cocked eyebrow because he didn't understand why she pushed him away. "You can do this next time, but I need you right now." When he smirked at her smugly, visibly enjoying her distress, her hands clasped around his neck, pulling him up her body. "Now!" she said, not caring how desperate she sounded, but her lips twitched when he chuckled, moving back to the place she wanted him.

"You really are demanding," he said with a laugh, kissing the tip of her nose.

She distantly remembered the talk they had at the Gala when she'd said something inappropriate. He wanted to know if she was always bossing people around and she'd answered him without really thinking that he should see her in bed. She didn't mean it as usual, but now they were here and it looked like her innuendo was correct after all and he was truly enjoying her embarrassment.

"Shut up!" She smacked his arm and that only made him grin even more. "Shut up and kiss me."

His body pinned her to the bed then, his erection hard on her stomach and the amusement disappeared from his eyes when both of them moaned at the contact.

"Whatever you want."

He leaned down and their mouths clashed together before she had time to take another breath. She moaned into his mouth, kissing him back with just as much fervor and he groaned as her hands grabbed at his hair, pulling him closer. He was kissing her like he wanted to consume her, controlling her lips the way he wanted, biting and licking, his tongue delving into her mouth and making her even more desperate for him.

She let her hand trail down his neck, nails scratching lightly at his skin and the low rumble deep inside his chest she could feel echoing on hers, let her know that he was enjoying what she was doing to him. One of her hands reached for the condom and brought it to her stomach. She ripped the package, taking the condom out and her other hand sneaked between their bodies, tracing along the hard lines of his abdomen until she reached the base of his cock.

Her hand wrapped around him and the other one joined, rolling the condom on his erection. The hand at the base moved then and her first slow stroke made him buck into her hand. A feral growl escaped him and she shivered, goosebumps appearing on her skin at the thought that she had this power over him. He was losing control and she was the one that pushed him to the edge.

" _Fe-li-ci-ty_ ," he panted, his voice strained as his lips broke away from hers.

His hips were rocking in time with her hand, her strokes deliberate and slow; his eyes growing darker and then she was grinning at him, thrilled that he was lost in the pleasure she was giving him just like he gave her before. But then he grabbed her hand, stilling her movements and his eyes showed her to not play with fire. Her grin only widened. She wasn't afraid of the big bad Bratva Captain. She could bring him to his knees if she wanted and she knew he would let her any other time. Now though, both of them wanted something different, something that couldn't wait any longer.

Wrapping an arm around her waist, he lifted her bottom up, the change of angle enough for his hips to nestle against hers and he could easily slip between her wet folds. She rocked against him on instinct, his jaw tightening in response and she moaned at the sensation. Heat was coiling deep within her when she felt the tip of his cock teasing against her entrance, sliding over her and making her beg for more with her hips arching forward.

His forehead fell on hers, his eyes gazing softly at her and she gave him a warm smile, reassuring him that she really wanted this and that he could finally move. His lips met hers for a simple kiss and their eyes locked. Neither of them blinked as he began to push into her slowly, her nails digging into his back and her mouth falling open, a ragged breath leaving her. She could feel him tensing above her, fighting to keep himself from taking her with one swift move and she was grateful because the ache of him stretching her took her breath for a moment.

Her head dropped to the crook of his neck when she couldn't keep her eyes open anymore and then he was buried inside her to the hilt. They both groaned, her breath hitching when she felt him deep inside her, filling her like no one before and it was wonderful. She didn't even remember why she waited so long to do that.

There was a second where they just breathed each other in and then Felicity moved her legs around his back, locking him between her thighs. His hand reached for her chin, directing her head up. Their eyes met again, emotions swimming in them and it was like they were telling each other everything they were feeling without using words. The moment was so intense that she swallowed hard, feeling his eyes boring into hers, yearning flashing in them. Then he began to pull out of her.

Her body arched forward, the heel of her foot digging into his back and her hands roamed across his back searching for something to hold on to. His movements were slow at the beginning like he was trying not to hurt her. He pulled out until just the tip of his cock was in her warm heat and then he pushed back in not losing his rhythm. She shuddered every time he did that and her interior muscles clamped down hard on him in reward. He hissed through his teeth and then groaned, pulling out of her tight passage.

Their hips continued to sway, lazily and gentle. The hand he had on her chin roamed down her body, catching her breast to knead it in time with his strokes. His mouth caught the other breast, sucking and kissing, making her hips lift into his, losing the rhythm as the low burn grew inside her belly. She arched into his palm and mouth, desperate to feel more of his calloused fingers and tongue working on her.

She bit her bottom lip and his eyes slammed shut as her hips swirled against his, showing him that she could take more. That she needed more and he shouldn't be afraid to take what he needed from her. His mouth moved away from her breast and she almost regretted her movement, but then she saw the look on his face and it didn't matter anymore.

It was the moment he finally snapped.

He increased the pace, holding himself above her as he rocked into her harder. Her teeth sank into his collarbone to keep herself from crying out in pleasure. She clutched at his biceps, her legs tightening behind his back and she was gasping hard and breathy as he continued to move.

Then he grabbed her left leg and pushed it up until her knee was flush with her chest and the moment he began to move, her eyes shut tightly, the intensity of pleasure running through her, filling her veins. Each time he thrust into her, his cock was hitting her deep inside in just the right spot. She was crying out, his name torn from her lips as she couldn't stay silent. Her moans only made him move faster, harder, and his eyes were so dark now that she couldn't help it when her hand shot up to grab his neck and bring his mouth to hers.

He slanted his mouth over hers, his kiss short and bruising, her lips chasing his as he pulled back, hand clutching the back of his head to keep him within her reach. Their noses brushed, short pants mingling as his shallow thrusts made the warmth spread through her. The only sounds that were leaving her mouth were loud moans and high-pitched gasps as she climbed higher and higher and she could tell that Oliver was just as close as she was when his grunts grew louder. Her walls tightened around his cock, coaxing him closer to the edge.

His hand released her leg then, arms slipping beneath her and he raised her up by her waist. He sat up with her and she gasped out a surprised, "Oh!" at the change of angle. He hugged her to him; she could feel the hard planes of his chest and the tight muscles of his thighs under her ass. Her legs barely managed to hook around his back when he began pounding up into her hard and fast. She couldn't match his pace. All she could do was hold tightly to his shoulders as he hit places she didn't think even existed.

Each time he pushed up, her clit rubbed perfectly over his pelvic bone and she writhed, panted and called his name like a broken record. He grunted her name huskily, Russian words escaping him as he gave in completely to the bliss between them. Lips kissing along her neck, teeth scraping down her throat. His movements became erratic, their fevered breaths filling the room. She was right there, her muscles tightening around him painfully. All she needed was three more powerful, rapid thrusts of Oliver's hips and she was knocked over the edge.

She came hard, her head thrown back as she cried out his name in bliss. Everything around her eyes exploded in white and she couldn't breathe, her brain shutting out on her. He came not far behind her, spilling into her with a hoarse cry, holding her tightly against him. It was incredible, she felt like her bones melted inside her body and she couldn't move even an inch, his arms around her waist the only thing that held her together. Her heart was beating wildly inside her chest and his responded to the call, the hammering of his heart easily felt on her breast.

She didn't know how long they stayed like that, enjoying the aftershocks of their orgasms, feeling the connection that came with what they did, but when she managed to take in a deep breath, she had her arms around his head, holding onto him for dear life, her fingers digging into his shoulders. His cheek rested on her chest, his breath hot on her skin, creating a new set of goosebumps. She withdrew from him slightly, loosening her death grip on him and after a moment he looked up at her.

His eyes were so light and happy that she was breathless for a moment. His entire appearance changed, like this made him whole again. The shadows disappeared from his eyes, the broken look she saw on his face the first day they met washed out, making him look like the version of himself he told her he wanted to be. He embraced the happiness, the good things in his life - she could see it in the way he was gazing at her.

It was too much for her, his transformation mixing with her feelings for him pulled at her heart and she wanted to say the words that had stayed hidden in her head since the moment she realized them. But she managed to hold them back for now and instead she captured his lips for a kiss so different from the ones they shared so far. It was pure joy flowing between them when he responded eagerly, longing when he tugged at her lips with his teeth. Affection when they held each other and tenderness when their lips parted.

Her forehead rested against his and he gave a small hum when her fingers combed through his hair, massaging his scalp. "Wow... that was..." she muttered against his lips. She couldn't find the words to describe what happened, they wouldn't be enough to express it anyway.

"Yeah," he said breathlessly, lost for words just like her. He kissed her again, shorter this time, but the meaning was still there. Then he scooped her up and got up from the bed with her in his arms. She didn't squeak this time at his unexpected move, but a small moan escaped her because he was still buried deep inside her.

He took her to the bathroom, pulled out of her slowly and let her stand on her feet for a moment while he disposed of the condom. When he was done, the water in her shower was already falling down on the shower floor and she was waiting for him inside. His arms circled her waist and pulled her back to him so she could lean on his chest. His head was in the crook of her neck and he was planting small kisses on her left shoulder while the hot water cascaded over their sides. Her head tipped back, resting on his chest, her eyes closed and a small smile adorning her lips.

''I could get used to this,'' she sighed dreamily and his arms tightened around her in response.

This - the two of them together in each other’s arms - this was perfect. This was everything she ever wanted and now she had that. No matter how hard things would get, no matter what life would throw at them, they would get through it because they were together. She loved him and the way he looked at her back in the bedroom made her think that he loved her as well. She didn't need words to know that. She had him, here with her and it was all that really mattered.

''Better do that,'' he said close to her ear. ''I'm not going anywhere.'' He kissed the back of her head and his nose nuzzled the line of her neck.

Felicity smiled, putting her hands on his and lacing their fingers together.

She didn't need anything more. She was home, she was safe and she was loved.

Simple as that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you for reading! What did you thing about that, hmm? :)  
> To anyone who wanted to know about my next story:  
> I'm writing an Island AU! :) I had this idea inside my head for a long time now and I decided to give it a try. Currently I'm re-watching the Island flashbacks and I'm writing very slowly. I have the entire story mapped inside my head so I know what I want to do with it and how it will end. It's going to be a multi-chapter because there's a lot to write so I don't see a point in making it a short story like this one. The chapters are gonna be shorter I think, 5K words max. You'll have to wait for it a few weeks because I want to be ahead with some chapters. It's not going to be the usual Island AU I've read, in fact I haven't seen one like the one I'm writing so I hope it's a good thing. All I'm going to say now is that Felicity will be on the Island, but not because of the Queen's Gambit. You can wonder about the possibilities. :) I hope that you will give this story a try when it will be posted. Who knows, maybe you'll like it better than this one. :)  
> Again, thank you for sticking with me, for your amazing response to this AU and I love you all! *HUGS*  
> As always, my twitter to chat with me: @angelica_fit  
> Or follow me on tumblr: http://seetheskyaboveus.tumblr.com  
> Pretty please, leave a comment! :)


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